FRCS assists thousands of MSMEs to comply with their tax obligations

In a bid to assist them with ease of doing business and improve voluntary compliance, almost 3,000 representatives from a diverse group of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises have received training from the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service on tax and customs processes and financial literacy.

In a statement, FRCS says 75 percent of those trained have complied and lodged their tax returns with FRCS.

FRCS Chief Executive Officer Udit Singh says MSMEs played a significant role in Fiji’s economy by contributing towards creating jobs, income generation and poverty alleviation.

Singh says the provision of tax training to MSMEs is critical as a lack of understanding of the tax system can contribute to non-compliance.

He says training can help MSMEs understand the importance of paying taxes, the risks of not paying taxes and how to calculate taxes etc.

He adds approximately 116,800 MSMEs are registered with FRCS, contributing to almost $59 million in taxes annually.

Singh says it is important to recognise that while the MSMEs may be running their businesses on a small scale now, they hold immense potential as future taxpayers.

He says FRCS also plans to introduce training in bookkeeping as it has been seen that another determinant of tax compliance is the absence of financial reports.

Singh commended all the entrepreneurs and industrious individuals who are the backbone of the MSMEs and are making significant contributions to the Fijian economy.