As part of its two-week technical mission from 31 March to 11 April 2025 on tax expenditure costing and evaluation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission team conducted a comprehensive two-day workshop with the teams from FRCS and Ministry of Finance (MOF) to share their findings on Tax Expenditure (TE).

Held at the FRCS headquarters in Nasese, Suva, the workshop featured in-depth discussions on key areas of tax expenditure, including Value Added Tax (VAT), Customs and Excise Tax, Corporate Income Tax (CIT), and Personal Income Tax (PIT). This event served as a valuable platform for exchanging insights and promoting a deeper understanding of these critical fiscal matters.

Tax expenditure reporting refers to the process of identifying and accounting for the fiscal impact of government support provided through the tax system. While direct expenditure policies are typically well-documented in national budgets, comparable transparency is often lacking for tax-related support measures.

TE reporting addresses this gap by enhancing fiscal transparency and supporting more effective policy evaluation. It enables both the government and the public to better understand which sectors or activities are receiving support through tax provisions, offering a clearer view of fiscal policy priorities. Furthermore, it serves as a crucial starting point for assessing the effectiveness of current policies and informing potential reforms.

The Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) recently convened its inaugural forum for the legal fraternity, focusing on tax compliance and customer advocacy, with a particular emphasis on Capital Gains Tax (CGT).

Held at the FRCS Headquarters in Suva, this forum provided a valuable platform for the Tax Office to engage in open and constructive dialogue under the theme, “Working together to achieve tax compliance and customer advocacy—helping customers and Fiji grow.”

In his welcome address, FRCS Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Udit Singh, highlighted the critical role of legal services for the majority of taxpayers, underscoring the importance of a collaborative approach with the legal fraternity.

“The forum aims to foster a productive and collaborative relationship between the legal fraternity and FRCS. It is designed to facilitate listening, gathering feedback, and implementing improvements to business processes, with a dual focus on enhancing customer experience and developing a trusted partnership with taxpayers and legal professionals,” Mr. Singh stated.

“By sharing our perspectives and expertise, we can identify areas of common ground and collaborate on solutions that will benefit our customers. Our collaborative approach will achieve several key outcomes, including taxpayer confidence, fairness, and transparency, ensuring that taxpayers’ rights are safeguarded, and the tax system is improved,” he stated.

Highlighting the strategic objectives of the Tax Office, FRCS Director of Taxation, Ms. Momina Beg, noted that FRCS had enhanced its customer engagement strategies by implementing tailored, industry-focused services aimed at improving the overall taxpayer experience.

While legal professionals administer several tax processes, this forum concentrated on CGT. CGT is levied on profits or gains realized from the disposal of capital assets at a rate of 10 percent.

According to Ms. Beg, real-time data from the Taxpayer Online Service (TPOS) revealed that as of February 2025, the expected CGT returns to be filed were 16,268, but only 10,107 were actually filed, resulting in a 38 percent non-compliance rate.

She proposed several areas for improvement to the legal professionals to enhance compliance with CGT and encouraged them to utilize TPOS to streamline their tax-related tasks.

Ms. Beg further stated that FRCS has undertaken several initiatives to facilitate compliance with the CGT process. These initiatives include enhancing CGT processes on TPOS based on customer feedback, adding additional valuers to the panel for providing valuation services to taxpayers, boosting educational materials and services on CGT, and creating a dedicated email address for CGT inquiries: cgt@frcs.org.fj.

Additionally, representatives from the legal fraternity, Mr. Subhash Parshotam and Registrar of Titles Ms. Torika Goneca, also made presentations at the forum. It was an interactive event where questions from the legal fraternity were addressed by the FRCS team, fostering an open dialogue between FRCS and the legal professionals.

FRCS plans to convene additional forums in the future.

We were pleased to receive an invitation to Koro Island to conduct awareness sessions and facilitate various registrations and applications. Our dedicated team, comprising Isireli Masiwini from the Border and Customs Division, along with Laisa Draunibaka and Ilaisa Ralulu from the Taxation Division, embarked on this mission with great enthusiasm.

The visit proved to be exceptionally productive, as the team successfully engaged with 14 villages, one secondary school, and three primary schools across the island. The response from the villagers was overwhelmingly positive, with many expressing their gratitude for FRCS’s efforts to bring essential services directly to their communities.

During their stay, the FRCS team provided a comprehensive range of services, including the registration of new individual, non-individual, and sole trader Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN), processing applications for Tax Compliance Certificates, and reprinting TIN letters and Joint ID Cards.

Additionally, the team conducted informative awareness sessions for business owners, educating them on their tax obligations and expectations from FRCS. They also demonstrated how to use the Taxpayer Online Service (TPOS) and provided financial literacy training to assist with tax return filings.

The visit to Koro Island was a testament to FRCS’s commitment to making its services accessible and ensuring that all citizens are well-informed and compliant with tax regulations.

The delegation, led by Ms. Zayda Manatta, Head of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (Global Forum) Secretariat, continued its engagement with political and technical authorities to emphasize the significance of investing in tax transparency and the exchange of information.

Today, the delegation, accompanied by the FRCS team, met with Mr. Ariff Ali, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF), and his team to discuss the roles and responsibilities of the RBF as the supervisor of financial institutions in implementing tax transparency standards in Fiji.

Additionally, they held discussions with Director, Financial Intelligence Unit (FFIU) Ms. Caroline Pickering, Administrator-General, Ministry of Justice Ms.Treta Sharma, and the Permanent Secretary for Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Raijeli Taga regarding their respective roles in enforcing tax transparency standards in Fiji.

These meetings are part of the Global Forum’s Induction Programme for Fiji.

Furthermore, the FRCS will host a national seminar tomorrow at its headquarters in Suva, covering topics such as tax transparency standards, their role in domestic resource mobilization, the fight against illicit financial flows, the multilateral supervision of the standards’ implementation, and the implementation of tax transparency standards in Fiji.

In a high-level visit to Fiji, a delegation led by the head of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (Global Forum) Secretariat, Ms. Zayda Manatta engaged with political and technical authorities to raise awareness on the importance of investing in tax transparency and exchange of information. These measures are pivotal in combating illicit financial flows and enhancing mobilizing domestic resources.

This visit is part of the Global Forum’s Induction Programme for Fiji, as Fiji obtained its membership for Global Forum in November 2023. The programme is designed to assist new members in successfully implementing international standards of transparency and information exchange for tax purposes. Additionally, it prepares new members for peer reviews, as all Global Forum members commit to being reviewed against tax transparency standards.

Yesterday, the delegates from the Global Forum met with FRCS CEO Mr. Udit Singh, Assistant Minister for Finance Hon. Esrom Emmanuel, and the Attorney-General Hon Graham Leung. The discussions encompassed:

• An introduction to the Global Forum and Fiji’s commitments as a member.
• An overview of international standards of transparency and information exchange, and their role in combating cross-border tax evasion and other illicit financial flows.
• The benefits for Fiji from implementing and utilizing these standards.
• An explanation of the peer review process and the role of national institutions and stakeholders in implementing these standards in Fiji.
• Fiji’s work programme with the Global Forum Secretariat.

The high-level delegates will continue with their meetings today.