The Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Mark Dixon as the new Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Dixon has broad and extensive experience in executive leadership positions, shaping government and business decision making in Australia and internationally.

He is a graduate of the UK’s Royal Military Academy and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He holds multiple tertiary qualifications including a Master’s Degree in Science and Technology.

“We are very pleased that Mr. Dixon has accepted the position of new CEO for FRCS. He has extensive knowledge in strategic leadership, governance, culture and change management as well as experience as a Board Director.” stated Board Chairperson Ms. Fay Yee.

Mr. Dixon has held leadership roles, as both a CEO and Managing Director, within the local government and the tertiary education and training sectors in Australia. He also served for 30 years as a senior army officer (Colonel) with operational and diplomatic service in the US, UK, Europe, Asia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Mark brings a unique set of skills and perspectives to lead FRCS into the future. He will build on what we have already undertaken and we hope to continue enhancing our efficiencies, partnerships, community engagement and service delivery with Mark on board” added Ms. Yee.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Dixon said “I am privileged and excited to have been given the opportunity to work for the Fijian Government, the FRCS Board and all our staff as we work together, as one team, to drive service excellence, improved business partnering and ongoing organizational transformation.”

Mr. Dixon will take up the position of CEO of FRCS on 4th January 2022.
The Executive Chair, Ms. Fay Yee will return to her position as Chair of the Board.

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The Fiji Public Service Association (FPSA)’s claim that the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) retained an employee who was identified for the proposed compulsory redundancy because the employee filed a grievance with the Employment Relations Tribunal (ERT), is incorrect and misleading.
When Mr. Jitendra Krishna filed a grievance with the ERT, the period of consultation and review process on the proposed redundancies was still ongoing as per our notice of redundancy. No decision had been made on the proposed redundancy, therefore the application made by the employee was premature.
Apart from Mr Jitendra Krishna, there were other employees that have been retained by FRCS upon completion of the consultation and review process. The retention of these employees has taken place due to FRCS’ consideration of all the circumstances, and not as a result of any input from FPSA, nor any legal proceedings.
The retention of Mr. Krishna has nothing to do with any act or submission by FPSA.

In an effort to enhance collaboration and strengthen partnership for efficient administration of Government’s incentive policies and to support economic growth and improve tax compliance in the agricultural sector, the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) and the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

The MOU was signed by the Acting Chief Executive Officer of FRCS Ms. Fay Yee and the Permanent Secretary of Agriculture, Vinesh Kumar.  The MOU is a mutual commitment in complimenting each other’s roles in particular the administration of agricultural incentives and concessions.

The agriculture sector plays an important role in Fiji’s economy providing employment and opportunities for sustaining livelihoods for many Fijians. The Fijian Government has introduced a number of incentives and pro-growth policies to encourage economic development and growth in the agriculture sector.  These incentives are administered by both FRCS and MoA.

According to Ms. Yee, the MOU formalizes a partnership between the two agencies to collaboratively work together to share information and improve service delivery. This will allow FRCS to serve our customers better in the processing of applications for agricultural incentives and concessions as well as the facilitation of customs clearance related to agricultural imports and exports.

“The MOU will also help farmers, exporters, investors and other stakeholders in the agricultural sector become better informed on the various available concessions and incentives as well as their tax obligations,” she said.

Ministry of Agriculture Permanent Secretary, Vinesh Kumar said the MOU allowed both the Ministry and FRCS to share information, facilitate better service delivery, support better decision making, and increase the ease of access to services.

The collaboration would greatly assist farmers, exporters as well as investors in the growth of the Fijian agricultural sector, he added. 

“The Ministry of Agriculture continues to provide support letters as a requirement by FRCS to those importers seeking duty concession in the agricultural sector. Importers are required to submit an application along with Bill of Lading and Invoice to the Ministry of Agriculture. The MoA AgTrade Unit verifies the application and evaluates it against a set criteria. Upon which a support letter is provided to FRCS to those who meet the requirements,” he explained.

“And for ease of business, this process is now online. Please visit the Ministry of Agriculture website and click on the Resources tab to access the online form or just click on https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdQ6kQBx5UAqT91U_K84sWWdSHvKwfz-h0uzAwQhT6oXr9L-A/viewform to directly access it,” Kumar explained.

In addition, the Permanent Secretary says “Given the new norm, our effort is to keep most of this data sharing online. This also promotes the Fijian Government’s effort to modernization and digitization of its services to offer enhanced customer service delivery.”

     FRCS MEDIA CONTACT                                                             MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE COMMS

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 The Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) wishes to remind operators of foreign fishing vessels to understand and comply with the entry requirements of Fiji. FRCS will have zero tolerance for illegal activities detected at the Fijian borders. 

This reminder follows detection of smuggled alcohol and cigarettes by FRCS Officers during our monitoring process whereby search and examination of fishing vessels are conducted. 

FRCS works closely with other border protection agencies in Fiji including the Fiji Immigration Department, the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji (BAF), the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MOHMS), the Fiji Police Force and the Fiji Navy to prevent illegal activities and safeguard the borders of Fiji. 

From 12 to 14 October 2021, FRCS conducted targeted searches on two foreign fishing vessels and discovered smuggled bottles of alcohol and packets of cigarettes concealed at various locations on the vessel. The smuggled goods worth approximately FJ$3,647 were detained by FRCS. Smuggling of alcohol and cigarettes on foreign fishing vessels is a re-occurring issue and to deter smuggling, FRCS has been profiling vessels and aircrafts for restricted and prohibited goods traded to or from Fiji. 

Our efforts to daunt illegal activities of foreign fishing vessels has been boosted through information received by the Fiji Navy, which has helped FRCS conduct random searches on 58 vessels from 2020 to date. During these searches, our team had found cigarettes and alcohol which were not declared. 

FRCS and other border protection agencies in Fiji is engaging with the authorised foreign fishing vessel agents to educate them on the risks of smuggling goods into Fiji. 

Our message to foreign fishing vessel operators found smuggling is simple. We will intercept you and you will face full force of the law. FRCS has zero tolerance for such illegal activities. 

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For all media enquires 

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 Phone: (679) 3243035. 

Fiji’s border protection will be further enhanced with the introduction of new trace detection device at our international borders provided by the New Zealand Government.

A short ceremony was held at the FRCS Office in Nadi to acknowledge this assistance from the New Zealand Government. New Zealand High Commissioner to Fiji, His Excellency Mr. Jonathan Curr and his team attended the ceremony virtually, while the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) Deputy Board Chair Mr. Mahmood Khan, Board Member Ms. Lala Sowane and Fiji Airways Managing Director and CEO Andre Viljoen were at the FRCS Office.  

While acknowledging the valuable support from the New Zealand Government, Mr. Khan stated that the assistance was a timely boost for Fiji’s border security system as Fiji prepared for re-opening of its international borders.

Mr. Khan further added that trace detection screening was increasingly common in international airports worldwide and with the introduction of this in Fiji, FRCS was further enhancing its ability to manage potential risks of illicit goods being brought into the country.   

The trace detection device will support FRCS to conduct risk assessment of cargo and passengers more effectively and will enable the Customs Officers to mitigate and identify illicit material on high risk cargo and passenger for intervention at the entry and exit points. Furthermore, it will help deter drug trafficking, transnational organized crime and ensure facilitation of legitimate trade.

The units, worth NZD$30,000 with additional consumable kits worth approximately NZD$3,000, was coordinated through the New Zealand High Commission in Fiji alongside New Zealand Customs Service (NZCS) and Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAANZ)and New Zealand Aviation Security Service.

 “NZ Customs is pleased that we were able to support a key partner in keeping Fiji and the Pacific region safe. New Zealand has strong historic links to the region and by contributing to the protection of Fiji’s borders, we remain connected with our Pacific neighbours. The region is important to us and we look forward to continuing our close relationship in the future,” Michael Blades, Director International at New Zealand Customs Service said.

Fiji Airways also welcomed the provision of four ETD units for use at the airline’s various facilities. Managing Director and CEO Andre Viljoen said: “This support from CAA-NZ and AVSEC NZ is extremely timely, given the reopening of Fiji’s borders for tourism on 1st December and the anticipated influx of people travelling to and out of Fiji. Enhanced regional aviation security is everyone’s business and in everyone’s interest, and Fiji Airways is delighted to be a part of this commitment.”

Through this assistance, New Zealand and Fiji’s international law enforcement cooperation and Customs to Customs partnership and Coordinated Border Management has been further strengthened.

Ends.

For further information, please contact on 1326 or email on publicrelations@frcs.org.fj.