In Vanuatu any persons carry on a taxable activity must apply for compulsory registration in any of the following circumstances:
- The total value of all taxable supplies made by the person in any 12 month period has exceed 4 million vatu, or
-There are reasonable grounds for believing that the total value of taxable supplies to be made by the person in the next 12 months will exceed 4 million vatu.
The VAT Office warns that where a person or a business has not applied for the registration and the Director establishes that they should be registered, the Director will force register the person or the business with effect from the date the person or the business first became liable to be registered. The VAT Office would like to make it very clear that in these circumstances the person or the business will then be required to file returns and account for VAT on all supplies made from the date the Director registers them.
The VAT Office will also obtain all relevant information’s from appropriate Government Departments and other third parties to establish the correct annual turnover. The VAT Office once again would like to remind businesses that when calculating their turnover to see whether it exceeds the registration threshold:
-The value of taxable supplies should exclude VAT; and
-The value of any exempt supplies made by the business is not taken into account.
The VAT Office would like to advise that anyone conducting a taxable activity in Vanuatu to address the VAT registration requirements as outlined in the VAT legislation seriously.
For more information on any VAT issues, please contact the VAT Office by phone: 00(678) 24573 and 00(678) 37517 (Santo), visit us at our Office in Carnot Street, Port Vila or email us at email us.
