The Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (Revenue & Customs) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) referred to as Customs Co‐operative Arrangement (CCA) with Hong Kong Customs on Wednesday, 24th October, 2018.

The Revenue & Customs Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Visvanath Das and Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr. Hermes Tang signed the CCA at the Customs Headquarters Building in Hong Kong.

The MOU enables respective administrations to strengthen co-operation in the fight against transnational customs crimes by exchanging information.

“The aim of this MOU is to enhance cooperation with Hong Kong Customs in terms of trade facilitation and law enforcement,” Mr. Das said.
“Through this CCA, both Customs administrations will be able to share information to combat transnational crimes and facilitate legitimate trade,” Mr. Das said.

“We appreciate this opportunity and partnership with Hong Kong Customs to learn and improve Customs administration in Fiji,” he added.
Currently, Hong Kong Customs has signed Customs Co-operative Agreements/Arrangements with 25 customs administrations, consisting of the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China and 24 overseas customs administrations.

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With the theme “Building Sustainability and Resilience in Tax Administration”, Fiji is hosting the 39^th Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA) Technical Conference at the Sheraton Fiji Resort and Spa, Nadi, Fiji from 12th – 16th November 2018.

Thirty-three (33) Commonwealth Countries comprised of 135 delegates are attending the conference including the CATA President representative Mr Abu Tariq Jamaluddin, outgoing Chairman of CATA representative Mr Dhanraj Ramdin, Vice Chair of CATA Mr. Jon Swerdlow, Executive Director of CATA, Mr.  Duncan Onduru, Minister for Revenue, Samoa Hon. Tialavea John Hunt and Associate Minister for Revenue, Samoa Afioga Lenatai Victor Tamapua.

Speaking at the Conference (Tuesday 13/11), CATA President Representative Mr Abu Tariq Jamaluddin said that “the theme for this year’s conference was chosen in view of the observed growing taxpayers’ appetite for digital services and the emergence of new business models consequent to globalization impacting our tax system”.

CATA Executive Director, Duncan Onduru emphasized that “this annual CATA event has over the years been used as a global pulse to reflect on how members can best respond to emerging challenges in the area of tax. Today, most of the tax administrations have many areas of convergence both in their governance and operational structures, thanks to this event”.

Executive Director CATA emphasized that on the global arena, majority of our member countries are grappling with numerous issues. The major consequent has been the inability of revenue mobilisation to meet the developmental needs putting pressure on tax administrations to plug the huge fiscal deficits. This calls for building sustainability and resilience in tax administration to confront these challenges – hence the theme for this year’s conference”, he added.

Fiji Revenue and Customs Service Chief Executive Officer Mr. Visvanath Das in delivering Fiji’s opening remarks said that “the theme for the conference was befitting for the fast evolving and competitive environment of the 21^st century”.                                                                                                       

Mr. Das said “Despite our geographical locations and differences, we all operate in environments that are void of certainty and predictability; where the ever changing role and mandate of Tax administrations creates the need for constant organizational reforms to enable us to respond to new and emerging challenges in a timely manner”.

He highlighted that “One emerging issue which Tax Administrations have traditionally shyed away from is in communications and how we improve and enhance our services to our customers, through use of various mediums to ensure we encourage voluntarily compliance”.

In closing Government’s opening remarks Mr. Das congratulated CATA and its members on its ruby anniversary that commemorates 40 years of global partnership before declaring the 39^th CATA Technical conference officially open.

The Conference will have 9 technical sessions and concludes on Friday 16 November 2018.

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The 39th Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA) Management Committee Meeting was convened today at Sheraton Fiji. This meeting returns to the Pacific after 21 years.

Today’s meeting saw the appointment of Fiji Revenue and Customs Service CEO – Mr Das as Chairman for the CATA Management Committee.  This is the first time ever for a Pacific Island country to hold the position of Chair. Fiji will now Chair the CATA Management Committee for the next 3 years.

Mr. Das in his incoming speech as the Chair for the CATA Management committee expressed his appreciation and gratitude for Fiji’s nomination  and said he looked forward to Fiji’s term as chair and the opportunity to work with Members to take CATA to new heights. He reiterated that this is another milestone achievement for Fiji Revenue and Customs Service in terms of Fiji providing leadership towards an International Organisation such as CATA with 46 member countries and that Fiji is yet again ready to make another impactful contribution on the international stage.

CEO Fiji Revenue & Customs also emphasized that his focus as Chair will not just be about meeting member needs today but to ensure preparedness of Administrations for the future, particularly  with emerging issues such as Technology, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Base Erosion and Profit Shifting and  addressing the key challenges  around Resilience and Sustainability of Tax Administrations whilst modernising and future proofing administrations.

The CATA conference will officially open tomorrow morning (Tuesday 13/11) for 4 days and will cover 9 technical sessions to discuss important policy and technical issues of current concern to member tax administrations.

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Further to FICAC’s charge of 25^th October 2018 against Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (Revenue & Customs) Director – Intel, Compliance and Investigations – Mr. Shameem Khan – for Abuse of Office and General Dishonesty, the Revenue & Customs will not be suspending Mr. Khan from his current duties.

The Service will reconsider its position pending receipt of further disclosures and /or evidence from FICAC on the charges brought against Mr Khan.

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‘We are committed to increase engagement with taxpayers to ensure voluntary compliance.”

These were the words of the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Visvanath Das during the CEO’s Forum yesterday evening at Revenue & Customs Complex Nasese.

Mr. Das while speaking at the forum highlighted Revenue and Customs commitment in working closely with taxpayers to increase revenue and help Fiji grow.

Mr Das said this is one of the reasons for the tax office efforts to simplify the tax system through reforms.

“Our role is not just simply enforcement; we would like to see the bigger picture that is to help Fiji grow. We are here to provide clarity and increase engagement,” Mr. Das said.

“We have engaged in digital transformation. Two major digitalisation projects are Fiji’s ratification to the trade facilitation agreement therefore the need to look at single window approach and the $48 million New Tax Information System (NTIS),” he said.

“In this effort, we should appreciate the data cleansing effort undertaken. We need your cooperation. This in turn will assist you in getting better quality information from the tax office,” he added

Mr Das said the laws, reforms and new projects by the tax office is to create a deterrent effect.

“Through our Compliance Improvement Strategy 2017/2018, we have only 47 percent compliance out of the 51,000 active business taxpayers,” Mr. Das revealed.

“We can do much better if we take greater responsibility in terms of voluntary compliance. We want to work with you and want you to voluntary comply which saves the hassle of imposing penalties unnecessarily,” he said.

Mr. Das further emphasized this when questioned by Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association (FHTA) CEO Fantasha Lockington – What is a priority area for FRCS? The Compliance Improvement Strategy is a key focus area for the organisation as it highlights high risk industries and how we will engage with them to improve compliance.

The CEO forum is one of the many avenues that Revenue and Customs is using to engage with taxpayers.

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The Revenue and Customs was recognized for its support towards the development of Regional Tax Administrations at the annual Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Center (PFTAC) Awards last night.

The award for “Supporting Regional Tax Administration Development” was received by the Chief Executive Officer of the Fiji Revenue and Customs Mr. Visvanath Das from IMF Technical Assistance Advisor Mr. Charles Jenkins.

“Whilst we have a mandate to improve our own efficiencies, we also want our fellow tax and customs administrations in the region to develop and modernize. And in the globalized environment which we are now operating in, there really is no magic recipe. We each need to find the solutions and adjustments which fits best in our individual organization’s context”, Mr. Das said.

“At Revenue and Customs, we have realized the need to benchmark against international best practices and undergo independent assessments and evaluation of our systems and processes. We have also been fortunate to have very supportive development partners who have shared with us their experience and practices to develop new frameworks and improve on existing frameworks and practices”.

“I appreciate the recognition that Revenue and Customs has received and I also affirm that we are continuing on our journey towards world class. People is the first strategic focus area of our Organization’s Strategic Plan and all our achievements including this one are the result of our people’s efforts and commitment. Therefore, this award is dedicated to 800 dedicated staff in our 10 offices around the country”, the CEO stressed.

“We will continue to strive for outstanding customer service, a satisfied and high-performance workforce and modernized and relevant processes and laws enabled by smart technology that will help Fiji and the Pacific grow”, he concluded.

The Annual Awards recognizes the efforts of Pacific Island countries whose financial tax organizations continue to create a benchmark for other Pacific Island Countries.

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The 15th Pacific Islands Tax Administrators Association (PITAA) Heads meeting got underway at the Tanoa International Hotel in Nadi.

PITAA Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Fiji Revenue and Customs Mr. Visvanath Das is chairing the week long meeting, attended by sixteen (16) regional tax heads. Officials from International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Centre (PFTAC), New Zealand Inland Revenue Department, Inter- American Center of Tax Administration (CIAT), Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Oceania Customs Organization (OCO) are also attending the meeting.

In his opening speech Mr. Das highlighted the need for Pacific Island Tax Administrators to work together to achieve the common goals of their respective Tax Administrations. He highlighted the need for Tax reforms for ease of doing business.

“Tax reforms are mostly designed to meet one or more of several macro objectives which includes, promoting fiscal sustainability and macroeconomic stability, improving private sector investment climate, strengthening export competitiveness or improving governance and transparency in public resource management,” Mr. Das said.

“Fiji is viewed as a big brother in the Pacific, celebrating 9 consecutive years of economic growth averaging 3% year on year and in the last financial year Fiji Revenue & Customs Service achieved tax revenue growth of 10% over the same period previous year.”

“This is being fueled by increased investment, broader tax regimes and strong demand due to Fiscal policy. For example, in the 2017/2018 budget announcement Government increased the income tax threshold to $30,000 which led to an increase in cash circulation by approximately $22m FJD,” Mr. Das told the participants.

“Despite the strong growth, several factors have substantially increased revenue risks and the complexity and volume of service, audit and other compliance interventions by revenue authorities. Amongst them are growth in the international trade, supported by e-commerce developments, changes in employment patterns and growth in the numbers of contractors, innovations in business structures and financial products, and the commoditization of tax schemes,” Mr. Das said.

The meeting concludes on Thursday 13 September 2018.

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The Revenue and Customs has expelled a renowned automotive company from its Gold Card Services Program for abuse and non-compliance to Customs laws on numerous occasions.

The Company breached Section 137 of the Customs Act of 1986 whereby the Company failed to adjust the price of vehicle parts to reflect the import duty reduction granted by the Government to make this affordable for Fijians. The duty reductions were not passed down to consumers.

“The Gold Card Initiative is based on high levels of trust and partnership towards voluntary compliance with rewards including priority facilitation, service and associated benefits. It is, therefore, imperative that Gold Card members adhere to and operate within the respective legislative framework at all times. Gold Card members must be role models for all taxpayers”, Chief Executive Officer Mr. Visvanath Das said.

Audit and Investigations into the business affairs of the company brought to light 2 instances of abuse of duty concessions wherein duty concessions were applied but the product delivered to a non-concessionaire. On another two occasions, duty reductions were not reflected in the pricing of the products thus attracting fines of $100,000. There were 3 further separate instances of tariff misclassification to minimize duty liability.

“We work very closely with our taxpayers providing support and guidance on issues for voluntary compliance.  However, we noted in this instance that the Company failed to implement mitigating measures to address recurring offences. We have room for technical and legislative interpretational matters to be amicably resolved. However, we have zero-tolerance for violation of straightforward and simple compliance matters’’, Mr. Das stressed.

“We will continue to work with this company to assist them to become compliant again. It would be a happy day for the Service if this company in time to come regains its Gold Card status,” expressed Das.

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