The Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) has launched the online filing of Corporate Income Tax (CIT) for tax years 2015 to 2021 on the Taxpayer Online Service (TPOS). CIT is one of the major tax processes of FRCS, which impacts over 35, 000 taxpayers.
For the 2021/2022 Financial Year, CIT had contributed 13.6% or $229.9 million towards the overall revenue collection of $1.692 billion. CIT is filed by companies, co-operatives, estates, trusts and partnerships.
The launch of the CIT online filing for tax years 2015 to 2021 is a significant milestone for FRCS and a demonstration of our commitment to modernise the tax administration, enhance taxpayer experiences and provide more efficient services to Fijians.
Close to 40 CIT returns were filed successfully on TPOS on the first day of the roll-out.
Our digital service aligns with the Fijian Government’s strategy on digital transformation. TPOS is a self-service platform that has transformed the Fijian tax administration with the aim to achieve voluntary compliance, self-assessment environments as well as enhanced the ease of doing business.
FRCS had planned to launch the Personal Income Tax (PIT) online filing for tax years 2015 to 2021 on TPOS simultaneously with CIT online filing for tax years 2015 to 2021. However, this implementation has been deferred to Tuesday 6th September 2022 due to technical complexities related to the migration of data from FRCS’s legacy system.
It is important that all data is migrated correctly to TPOS to avoid any adverse impact on the taxpayers after PIT online filing for tax years 2015 to 2021 is implemented. To facilitate the roll-out of PIT online filing for tax years 2015 to 2021 from next week Tuesday, there will be a system downtime from close of business Friday 2nd September to Monday 5th September 2022. During this time, TPOS will be unavailable.
TPOS went live in December 2019, enabling taxpayers 24/7 access to the FRCS services. Some of these services include Joint ID Card, statement of accounts, ability to update information and file, amend and object to tax returns. TPOS is one of the largest projects in Fiji and currently has more than 100 different services online.
To date, more than 63,000 taxpayers have signed up for TPOS. We encourage more taxpayers to sign up. To access the TPOS portal, taxpayers need to email us the completed one-time login code form available on https://www.frcs.org.fj/wpcontent/uploads/2019/06/FRCS002_Signup-Authentication-Forms-1.pdf and we will send them the code to sign-up.

The Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) has collected net revenue of $1,692.6m for the 2021-2022 fiscal year, surpassing the forecast by $11.7m or 0.7%. The forecast has been achieved despite an upward revision in the 2021-2022 Revised Budget by $83m or 5.2%.
According to the FRCS CEO, Mr. Mark Dixon, compared to the 2020-2021 fiscal year, overall net collections have shown a remarkable growth by $279.6m or 19.8%.
“We ended the month of July on a very high note, recording a total collection of $186.6m which is above the forecast by $6.4m or 3.5%. The July 2022 collections have shown spectacular growth in comparison to July 2021 collections with an increase in revenue by $71.9m or 62.6%,” he said.
Mr. Dixon said that the 2021-2022 revenue collection started relatively slow with August 2021 recording one of the lowest collections of $84.4m since the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, he said that the revenue collection increased in the later months of 2021-2022 with various initiatives undertaken by the Fijian Government such as providing financial support to businesses, injecting cash into the economy through unemployment assistance schemes, re-opening the international borders and other budgetary support.
‘The monthly average net revenue collections in the first 6 months of the year was $130m which later increased to $150m in the second half of the year. The average monthly collection in the last quarter stood at $176.1m. The strong revenue collections in the recent months can be attributed to the recovery of our businesses, the rebound of the tourism sector and increased confidence shown by our consumers. Consumption taxes such as Domestic VAT, Import VAT, Fiscal Duty, Domestic Excise have all been contributing to the positive revenue outcome,” Mr. Dixon said.
Despite the period of recovery and slow revenue collection in the earlier months of the fiscal year, FRCS continued to release refunds promptly to assist businesses with their cash flows. $192.8m has been released in VAT refunds for the fiscal year, exceeding the forecast by $2.3m.

The Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) collected a net revenue of $193.8m in June 2022, the highest monthly revenue collected during and post COVID-19 pandemic period. The collections outperformed the forecast by $15.3m or 8.5 percent. The forecast for June 2022 was $178.5m. The collections for June 2022 are also 57.8% or $70.99m, higher over June 2021.
FRCS CEO, Mr. Mark Dixon said this is really great news because it indicates that the Fijian economy is growing and recovering strongly post COVID.
“The tax collections were across all tax types, which shows that it is not only tourism that is doing fantastically well but all elements of our economy are recovering from COVID and delivering strong results and creating new jobs,” Mr. Dixon said.
Consumption taxes such as Domestic VAT (Value Added Tax), Import VAT, Fiscal Duty and Domestic Excise have all increased considerably with some of the tax types recording their highest levels in 2 years.
The promising improvement noted in the international tourism space has also seen a strong increase in the Departure Tax collection.
According to Mr. Dixon, given the improved economic conditions, coupled with the pick-up in investment activities and expected high consumption demand, revenue collections are expected to maintain their positive trend.
“We are confident that those revenue collections will continue to be strong for the rest of this year and things are looking good into the next year as well,” he said.

JOINT PRESS RELEASE

10 June 2022 – The Tertiary Scholarships and Loans Service (TSLS) and the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today to facilitate the loan recovery processes for graduate TELS (Tertiary Education Loans Scheme) recipients who are employed. Both TSLS and FRCS wish to strengthen and improve the current student loan recovery process.

TSLS is mandated under its Act to implement transparent and accountable management of government funding provided for tertiary scholarships and loans. As per the MOU, TSLS will be responsible for collecting student data and providing FRCS with the list of student data for verification processes.

TSLS CEO Dr. Hasmukh Lal said the MOU signing was a significant achievement for both organisations in strengthening partnership and collaboration around loan recovery through joint enforcement, compliance, and monitoring.

“Both TSLS and FRCS intend to carry their responsibilities outlined in this MOU in a spirit of cooperation and willingness with clear standard operating procedure underpinned with demarcated responsibilities.,” he said.

“The purpose of this collaboration is to provide ease and convenience to the TELS funded students in terms of generating loan statements, acquiring travel release and repayment mechanisms.”

FRCS CEO Mr. Mark Dixon welcomed the partnership, highlighting that the signing of the MOU coincided well with the implementation of student loan services on the Taxpayer Online Service (TPOS) early this week.

According to Mr. Dixon, the introduction of a student loan online facility through TPOS will provide students with a convenient way to manage their loan or scholarship affairs.

“The student loan online services will also strengthen debt collection and reduction of student loan arrears, as all key data and information related to student loans will be available through TPOS and can be easily accessed reducing the need to visit FRCS or TSLS Offices,” he said.

“The partnership between the two organisations to collaboratively work together to share information will facilitate better service delivery, support better decision making and, enhance the ease of access to services.

“Our online service also promotes the Fijian Government’s efforts to modernise and digitize its services to offer an enhanced customer service experience,” Mr. Dixon said.

Through the student online service, students will be able to access their loan statements, send notifications on employment, calculate eligibility for accelerated repayment incentives and assign tax agents to perform tasks on their behalf. In addition, students and guarantors can make repayments and apply for temporary and permanent release to travel abroad.

To access student online services, it is mandatory to sign in for TPOS which  can be accessed through the FRCS website www.frcs.org.fj.

For further enquiries, please contact Mr. Ashneel Singh, Coordinator Communications and Awareness: communications@tsls.com.fj  or phone 8921240 or Ms. Devika Narayan, Manager Corporate Communications: dnarayan@frcs.org.fj or phone 3243035.

As part of its continued efforts to enhance the ease of doing business in Fiji, the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) in consultation with the Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF), has announced raising the financial limit for obtaining Tax Clearances to FJ$5,000 effective from 1 June 2022. However, this excludes payment for services of any amount.

Individuals and businesses will not require Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) for remittances that are valued less than FJ$5,000, except for service payments.

TCC is an official approval which confirms the amount cleared by FRCS to be remitted offshore for goods and services.

According to FRCS CEO Mr. Mark Dixon, this is a great example of FRCS listening to feedback from businesses and stakeholders and working towards improving the ease of doing business.

“This initiative is part of FRCS’s role in facilitating the growth of businesses and in improving tax systems and processes, which will positively benefit banks, businesses and individuals as it will significantly reduce the number of small transactions requiring TCC,” Mr. Dixon said.

“We would like to assure all taxpayers that we will continue to review our operational policies and practices to bring in more efficiency and improvement in our service delivery,” he said.

This positive transition by FRCS is a result of the trust that the Service has on the taxpayers that they will act responsibly and continue to fulfill their tax obligations.

The Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) vision and corporate strategy focuses on embarking on a transformational journey to become a world class revenue service delivering excellence in revenue collection, border protection, trade and travel facilitation.

As part of achieving this vision, representatives from the Australian Tax Office (ATO), Assistant Commissioner Ms. Belinda Darling and Director Ms. Gabrielle Jackson visited FRCS and engaged with their counterparts.

The meetings were led and facilitated by FRCS CEO Mr. Mark Dixon to discuss FRCS’s priorities for the 2022-2023 financial year, as well as the key areas that need prioritising for capacity building and partnering arrangements with Australia.

The partnership aims to build a strong and effective working relationship between ATO and FRCS to support FRCS in its work to design and implement a strong, transparent and effective tax compliance regime in Fiji.

FRCS has identified specific areas where the ATO can assist to strengthen their tax administration and some of these include:

• Improve Taxpayer Online Services;
• Support Compliance Improvement Strategy with a focus on voluntary compliance – making it easy to comply and hard not to comply;
• Support data analytics and debt management strategies;
• Automate the private ruling process.

Mr. Dixon thanked the ATO team for their visit and encouraged the senior management of FRCS to openly contribute and collaborate with the ATO so that they can understand FRCS’s technical assistance and capability building needs which will help ATO develop a detailed action plan on how FRCS and ATO can collaborate into the future.

Australia and Fiji share a strong and enduring bilateral relationship, demonstrated by the two Governments formalising the Fiji-Australia Vuvale Partnership in 2019. The term was chosen to reflect the depth, breadth and warmth of the governmental relationship. Ms. Jackson and Ms. Darling reported that the meetings were a success and in keeping with the spirit of the Fiji-Australia Vuvale Partnership very collaborative and hospitable.

The ATO also met with representatives from the Australian High Commission, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and other organisations based in Fiji that are relevant for the ATO’s capacity work in tax, such as Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Centre (PFTAC) and Pacific Islands Tax Administrators Association (PITAA).

The Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) wishes to congratulate Principal Auditor/Team Leader Mr. Tevita Tuiloa on his appointment as a Director to the Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) Board.

Mr. Tuiloa is currently the Secretary for the Suva Rugby Union.  He has held this position for several years in a volunteer role and as a result of his outstanding performance, he was nominated by the Suva Rugby Union to be a Board Director of the FRU.

While congratulating Mr. Tuiloa on his new appointment, FRCS CEO Mr. Mark Dixon said FRCS is proud of Mr. Tuiloa’s great achievement.

“I am certain that Tevita will strive to move rugby in Fiji to new heights with his strong leadership qualities and his great passion and commitment for sport” said FRCS CEO Mr. Mark Dixon.

“FRCS, in line with its mission to ‘Helping Fiji Grow’, is happy to support sports in Fiji. Early this year, one of our staff represented Fiji at the Oceania Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar and now we have Tevita’s appointment to FRU Board,” said Mr. Dixon.

 “I feel honored to be appointed as a Board Director for FRU and hope I can add value and improvements where needed both at a strategic and operational level. Rugby is our national sport and hopefully, we can continue to use it as a tool for nation building and improve performances both on and off the field. More importantly, continue to provide pathways for our boys and girls, men and women to earn a living through rugby,” Mr. Tuiloa said.

“I wish to thank the FRCS CEO and our Intelligence, Compliance and Investigations (ICI) team for allowing me to serve on the FRU Board, continuing our mission of “Helping Fiji Grow” through sports.

“Working at FRCS, you have a mission of helping businesses comply with tax laws and pay their taxes which in turn helps Fiji grow. Similarly, for rugby, we help rugby clubs (both men and women), players and supporters play and enjoy rugby. By doing so, they create economic activity from the hiring of grounds, transport, volunteers and meals, along with remittances sent from offshore for those contracted helping their families back home. With our Drua men and women teams, this ensures that we host more Super Rugby and test matches here in Fiji which also contributes to Tourism and the economic impacts on all Fijians,” Mr. Tuiloa added.

Mr. Tuiloa, while with Suva Rugby had been responsible for their commercial and sponsorship program together with his expertise in tournament hosting, which would add great value to the FRU Board.

FRCS MEDIA CONTACT

For all media enquires

• Email: publicrelations@frcs.org.fj
• Phone: (679)

The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University has commended the outstanding achievements of three women leaders in Customs from the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) who have co-authored three distinguished articles which has been published in the most recent edition of the World Customs Journal.

The 16^th edition of the World Customs Journal was published last week, where Principal Customs Officer Akosita Valamalua, Senior Customs Officer Losalini Lesu and Customs Officer Litiana Sautulevu featured prominently in the list of authors.

FRCS nominated Ms. Valamalua, Ms. Sautulevu and Ms. Lesu to participate in the Container Control Programme- Women’s professional Development Programme (CCP-WPDP) jointly delivered by the Australian Border Force (ABF), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)-World Customs Organisation (WCO) and the RMIT University in August 2021. Upon graduation, all three members accepted the invitation from the World Customs Journal to conduct research into critical customs theme.

Commending the three leaders on their remarkable achievement, the Director of RMIT University Transnational Security Centre Mr. Philip Dowler stated that the voices of FRCS Officers will now travel around the world and influence positive change in the international Customs community.

“RMIT welcomes ongoing partnership with FRCS. We applaud your efforts to build a positive culture that recognises and advances women in Customs leadership,” Mr. Dowler stated.

 FRCS CEO Mr. Mark Dixon also commended the three women customs leaders for this astonishing achievement.

“This is a fantastic achievement for our Customs female leaders – lifelong learning is important and this sort of academic achievement is something to be proud of – well done and thank you from all at FRCS,” Mr. Dixon stated.

Mr. Dixon also thanked ABF, UNODC, WCO and RMIT for providing an opportunity for women officers in Asia-Pacific and beyond to advance their career pathways in their national customs administration and also build leadership to more effectively combat the global movement of illicit goods.

This is the first time Customs Officers from FRCS have contributed to a scholarly journal.

Ms. Valamalua co-authored the article on Bolstering resilience in Customs: the wellbeing of our people, Ms. Sautulevu contributed towards the article A new mindset on customs cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region and Ms. Lesu on Women in customs leadership: why does it matter?

In addition to a series of academic contributions that address a broad range of topical subjects on customs, the 16^th edition of World Customs Journal also includes several articles that showcase the inaugural Women’s Professional Development Program which provides thought-provoking insights into the principles, benefits and outputs of Program that is designed to strengthen the leadership skills of women customs officers and build their international networks in the male-dominated field of containerised cargo control.

FRCS MEDIA CONTACT

For all media enquires

• Email: publicrelations@frcs.org.fj
• Phone: (679)