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Senior representatives from key financial agencies in Fiji will be part of an interagency committee that will guide the work of a new unit formed to guard against corruption in Fiji’s export sector.
The Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) today announced the establishment of the committee to strengthen the role of the Export Proceeds Monitoring Unit (EPMU).
The committee will include senior representatives from the Fiji Islands Revenue and Customs Authority (FIRCA), the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the RBF.
The EPMU, based in the Reserve Bank, is part of the Bainimarama government’s anti-corruption efforts and was announced in the 2010 Budget.
The unit is charged with the responsibility of ensuring all export proceeds are remitted to Fiji in compliance with the Exchange Control, said RBF Governor Sada Reddy.
It will also carry out investigations into transfer pricing and over-invoicing of imports.
The unit’s work will also benefit other cross border trade and tax compliance issues, said Reddy.
“Given the importance of exports proceeds to Fiji, there is a need to approach this task in a coordinated fashion. In this regard, the interagency committee will ensure that information can be exchanged between the three agencies so that any investigation is effective and avoids any duplication of work,” he said.
The committee will prepare a memorandum of understanding to guide the three agencies in the exchange of information and collaborative work.
