SUVA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The Fijian government has formed a new Business Reform Committee partnering with a team of Fijian business executives to foster efficient systems and processes in the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service.
Fiji's Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said the task of the committee will be to root out unnecessary bureaucracy and inconsistency in the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service and instil a new corporate culture in revenue and customs.
The committee's report will review tax and customs administration in Fiji, the implementation of Value Added Tax (VAT) Monitoring Systems, and Revenue and Customs' stakeholder engagement strategies, a government statement said Wednesday.
The committee will also examine the effectiveness of trade and investment facilitation policies and identify opportunities for specialization within Fiji Revenue and Customs to provide service offerings tailored to businesses of different sizes and sectors.
Once finalized, the report will be presented to the Ministry of Economy.
Aside from private sector membership, the committee will include representatives from the Reserve Bank of Fiji, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Solicitor General's Office.
The government statement said Fiji is tapping into business acumen across a wide array of industries, perspectives and backgrounds to revolutionize the services offered by the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service.
It states that guided by an overarching mandate to foster transparency, improve efficiency and support a more customer oriented level of service, the committee will leverage the knowledge and experiences of its membership to compile a comprehensive report on how the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service can better serve the private sector.
The committee was first announced by Khaiyum in the 2019-2020 National Budget Address.
Khaiyum said the move would fuel the engine of the Fijian economy and that was why they were tapping into the wealth of experience in women and men who have started and built business themselves.
The Fiji Revenue and Customs is trying to create simplicity in the tax legislation and provide a reliable way where taxpayers are willing to comply.
The new system will allow taxpayers to perform their tax obligations electronically through OnlineTaxpayer Portals, said the Fiji Revenue and Customs.
