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A new initiative by Fiji’s tax department will allow tax agents to access information on their clients in the comfort of their offices.
While launching the Fiji Islands Revenue and Customs Authority tax portal in Suva today, Acting Prime Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said the event signals the modernizing agenda the Government has embarked on.
“The modernizing agenda is not only to revamp the laws, amend the laws, introduce new laws that recognize the contemporary society that we live in, but also to bring about various efficiencies within our governmental systems and processes,” he said.
The move is expected to create efficiencies for businesses and tax payers.
“The other important aspect of course, is that it leads to accountability,” adds Sayed-Khaiyum.
“It leads to accountability in terms of the officers of FIRCA and in respect to the agents themselves because you have information that once lodged it’s there for everyone to see. It also means that information does not necessarily get lost.
“It also means that there are in-built efficiencies because if somebody is sick from work it does not mean that the next person who is there may be able to access that information.
“All in all, it creates that environment that is not only conducive. If you are a tax agent and you are able to have efficiency vis-à-vis your client’s information and lodging of returns, generally it creates that environment within Fiji itself, where we are seen as an efficient and a modern society.”
FICRA is expected to put other services online over the next few months.
“Eventually, you will be able to launch returns and various other details therefore minimizing your need to physically visit the offices,” said Sayed-Khaiyum.
“Next year we are going to computerize the Companies Office and the Titles Office. This means that the various investors going to FTIB (Fiji Trade & Investment Board) will know that there is a system in place in Fiji which creates efficiencies, which means lodgments can be made quickly, companies can be registered quickly and you can access your Titles and do searches from the comforts of your home.”
