With a raft of new budgetary tax measures going into effect Friday, the local business sector says it’s ready to implement those under its control.
President of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) Anthony Branker said late Thursday evening that his members are prepared even though there had been much uncertainty surrounding which consumer items fall under some of the categories affected by the tax measures.
Of particular focus are the selected personal and critical care items which will be free of Value Added Tax (VAT) and the 20 per cent excise tax hike on sugar-sweetened beverages.
Earlier on Thursday, president of the Petroleum Dealers Association (PDA) Aldo Ho-Kong-King complained that he had not seen any documentation from the Government that would provide guidance to his members who sell “sweet drinks” and personal care items at automarts across the island.
However, Branker said that members of his organisation, which include the petrol dealers, were furnished with the relevant information.
“The Chamber has worked closely with the Comptroller of Customs, the Customs Enforcement Department and we were furnished with the items that should be zero-rated for VAT and we furnished our members with it – the sanitary napkins, anti-perspirants, adult diapers, baby diapers, vitamins and minerals,” Branker told Barbados TODAY.
Ho-Kong-King had expressed concern that on the eve of the introduction of the measures announced on March 14 by Prime Minister Mia Mottley in her Budget presentation in the House of Assembly, his members would not know what to do when customers walked into the various automarts from Friday.
“There has been no literature that I can find in any government source to guide anybody on exactly what items there are or how this tax is being implemented,” he told Barbados TODAY.
“I don’t know if the manufacturers put it on and then we get it or if it goes on from the consumer end with VAT. Nobody knows. I have seen no literature anywhere. Nothing is on GIS [Government Information Service], nothing has come out through BRA [Barbados Revenue Authority]. I mean, we are expected to implement something tomorrow and there has absolutely been no official government literature other than the Budget,” the spokesman for service station retailers declared.
“It is very difficult for the retailers. As of right now on Thursday afternoon and implementation being tomorrow, April 1, thus far we have not been able to find any official government literature on the items that are to be VAT-free specifically. There have been generalisations on it, and we haven’t seen a government document to guide retailers on what is to be exactly VAT-free.
“There are many different categories [of] vitamins. So there needs to be some kind of clarification. Further to that, the soft drink levy comes into effect tomorrow, and we have seen no official documentation to guide retailers either as to whether it goes on the manufacturing side and automatically comes to the retailers or if it’s a tax the retailers are supposed to implement and submit. So we are waiting for information at the 11th hour at this stage to determine what is to be done and what is included,” Ho-Kong-King complained.
Other budgetary measures going into effect Friday are a pandemic contribution levy of one per cent to be paid by individuals with a gross annual income of over $75,000, for a period of 12 months; a moratorium on interests on outstanding National Insurance contributions for the period ending June 30, 2022; a four-tier increase in the cost of natural gas to commercial customers along with a hike in rental fees of meters for domestic and commercial clients; an excise tax and VAT holiday on electric vehicles for 24 months; and an increase in the loan limit for public servants, to $100,000, to facilitate the purchase of electric vehicles or alternate-fuelled vehicles.
Effective Friday, there will also be a waiver on the import duty and VAT on the purchase and installation of generators at residential homes, for two years. Authorised car rental companies will also have to pay 50 per cent of the licence with the remainder being deferred for a maximum of 12 months, to replenish vehicle fleets. emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb
