E-COMMERCE UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT
Individuals have been urged to register their personal details online in a digital portal provided by the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service.
Chief executive officer Visvanath Das made the comment last week at the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation where business discussions centered on FRCS’s online taxpayer system.
The gathering of around 50 employers was aimed at encouraging businesses to capitalize on the registration processes available online.
“If you have not registered your business, you’re distorting the level playing field,” he said.
The online sign up process involved in phase one of FRCS $48 million online project comes with a one-time log in code, he said.
Mr Das said the response to the need to register was slow because of the holiday season.
“A lot of people thought the first phase was mandatory.
“But we want to hold hands with our customers to do it on time, online.”
He said the online portal worked well to identify individuals and companies who were not registered.
Mr Das said the system was designed to reject claims submitted by companies that had not registered with FRCS.
“We expected noise and it did happen. But please work with us to get over it.”
He said smaller businesses today would grow to be bigger businesses tomorrow.
“We welcome feedback on how to make business better because we want to the level of businesses to rise.”
FRCS charges a dollar a day for late lodgement, he said. Mr Das said a two month grace period is in place to waiver penalties incurred through late lodgment.
Tax clearance licences will also be made available online, Mr Das said while explaining the need to go 100 per cent paper-free in all application processes.
Mr Das said kiosks were set up at all FRCS centers for businesses to register as he urged small and medium enterprises to sign up.
“You can visit our offices to initiate the process. It’s not mandatory to file everything online.” FRCS is moving into phase two of the project which will enable online payments, Mr Das said. Mr Das said there were plans to improve the Value Added Tax legislation in a bid to address the e-commerce market, which sold items online without paying any means of tax.
“When you see someone wearing a new sari every week, you know there’s something wrong,” he said of online sales where imported items were sold through social website mediums.
“That’s going to change.”
To concerned members who queried measures of strengthening the system against tax fraud, Mr Das said everything had an audit trail online.
Consultations on the VAT Act will roll out this month, Mr Das said.
“Let’s find solutions, not park the project because of hiccups.”