About
Us
Welcome
to the official website
of the Inland Revenue
Department, Saint Lucia.
Our
Mission
The Inland Revenue Department
stands committed in its
impartial treatment of
its customers. We aim
to provide an efficient,
professional and courteous
tax service, while administering
the relevant tax laws
on behalf of the Government
and people of Saint Lucia.
Our
Goals
-
To
encourage and achieve
the highest possible
degree of voluntary
compliance in accordance
with the tax laws.
-
To
advise the public
of their rights and
responsibilities.
-
To determine the extent
of compliance and the
cause of non-compliance.
-
To
do all things needed
for the proper administration
of the tax laws by
administering legislation
fairly, uniformly
and courteously.
-
To continually search
for and implement
new, more efficient
and effective ways
of accomplishing our
Mission.
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Our
Jurisdiction
The
Department falls under
the general jurisdiction
of the Ministry of Finance,
International Financial
Services andEconomic Affairs.
The Prime Minister is
the Minister responsible
for the Ministry of Finance,
International Financial
Services and Economic
Affairs.
The
Research, Development
& Policy Division
of the Ministry is responsible
for the planning of tax
policy, while the Inland
Revenue Department is
responsible for administering
the various taxes which
fall under its authority.
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Our
Functions & Roles
The main functions of
the Inland Revenue are
the assessment and collection
of taxes. The Department
also functions in an advisory
capacity to the Minister
of Finance & Planning
and the Permanent Secretary.
Our
roles are:
- To
encourage and achieve
the highest possible
degree of voluntary
compliance in accordance
with the tax laws and
regulations;
-
To advise the public
of their rights and
responsibilities;
- To
determine the extent
of compliance and the
cause of non-compliance;
- To
do all things needed
for the proper administration
and enforcement of the
tax laws by administering
legislation fairly,
uniformly and courteously;
- To
continually search for
and implement more efficient
and effective ways of
accomplishing our mission.
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Our
Staff
The
Inland Revenue Department
is headed by a Comptroller.
The Department is subdivided
into five sections and
has a Tax Service Centre
in Vieux Fort and a sub-office
in Soufriere.The five
main sections of the Inland
Revenue Department are:
Each
section is managed by
an Assistant Comptroller
who is responsible for
performing specific duties.
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THE OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER
INTERNAL
AUDIT/TECHNICAL RESEARCH
The Internal Auditor/Technical
Researcher is responsible
for performing audit reviews
on the internal control
systems of the Department
and conducting technical
research.
The technical research
aspect of the job involves
the preparation of law
interpretations for the
approval of management.
The officer is also responsible
for assisting in the research
and preparation of the
Departments position in
cases submitted to the
Appeal Commissioners and
the Court of Appeal.
Other duties include:
Interpreting and reviewing tax legislation;
Drafting amendments to tax legislation;
Providing legal opinion on various tax issues;
Researching law, investigating facts, preparing draft documents
for discussion and approval
by management;
Researching and analysing law sources such as statutes, recorded
judicial decisions, legal
articles, and treaties;
Representing the Department before the Appeal Commissioners,
the High Court and the
Court of Appeal;
Representing the Department in negotiating Double Tax and
Tax Information Exchange
Agreements with other
countries;
Representing and presenting the Departments position on international
tax issues which have
the potential of affecting
St. Lucias Income Tax
regime.
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THE OFFICE OF THE
DEPUTY COMPTROLLER
Objections
The Objections Unit provides
taxpayers with an independent
and expeditious reconciliation
of assessments that are
under objection.
The officers resort to
resolving tax grievances
on a basis which is fair
and impartial to the Government
and the taxpayer without
resorting to litigation.
Where there is still disagreement
on the outcome of an objection,
the taxpayer has the right
to lodge an appeal to
the Appeal Commissioners.
This unit also handles
requests by taxpayers
for reassessments to account
for additional claims
previously omitted by
them.
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Vieux-Fort
Tax Service Centre
Following the restructuring
of the Department in 1997
the Vieux-Fort Sub-office
was upgraded to a Tax
Service Centre.
The Centre provides the
following services:
Collections;
On-line services; such as issuing of statements and assessments;
Returns processing;
Taxpayer assistance; such as the resolution of simple issues;
and
Tax roll maintenance
The Soufriere Sub-office
The Soufriere Sub-office
falls under the management
of the Vieux-Fort Tax
Service Centre.
The main responsibility
of the sub-office is the
collection of taxes.
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ADMINISTRATION
The officers of this unit
are responsible for the
physical needs of the
Department and attend
to Personnel, Finance
and General Office matters.
Refunds also falls under
this unit and the officers
of this subunit are responsible
for processing and mailing
refund cheques to taxpayers
and maintaining accurate
records as to the encashment
of these cheques.
Another subunit which
falls under the Administration
Unit is the Mail Room
which serves as a centralised
unit for processing mail,
and ensuring their proper
distribution for appropriate
action.
Taxpayer
Relations
Programmes are organised
by this unit for educating
and informing the public
of its rights and responsibilities
under the Tax Laws.
The major objective of
the programmes handled
by this unit is to promote
a general awareness and
understanding of tax and
other related laws with
a view to encouraging
and facilitating maximum
voluntary compliance.
The staff of this unit
are also expected to draw
to the attention of management
the areas where the services
of the Department can
be improved to ensure
that a positive image
is maintained at all times.
The Inland Revenue Department
recognizes that taxpayers
cannot comply with the
law unless they know and
understand what is expected
of them.
The Department continually
strives to make the process
as clear and simple as
possible to St. Lucians,
whatever their backgrounds
or needs. To this end
the Department offers
some services and a variety
of publications that help
St. Lucians in fill out
their tax return and understand
their responsibilities.
During the peak filing
period that is the months
January to March every
year. Special effort is
made by the Department
to ensure that taxpayers
meet this statutory obligation
and establishes/implements
the following:
-
Help Desks
at strategic locations
in Castries and Vieux
Fort
-
Enhanced Counter
Service.
Staff assisting taxpayers
directly in the preparation
of their return, by
guiding them through
the tax return, line
by line.
-
Discussion Forums
to the private sector
and various organisations
-
Departments Website
which provides general
information on Taxes
-
Automated Tax Return
Individuals / Companies
Library
Services
The
Library provides reference
material on Tax Law, Tax
Administration, Tax Policy
and other relevant information.
Taxpayer
Assistance
This unit serves as the
nerve-centre of the Department.
It provides a one-stop
enquiry service to taxpayers
and other members of the
public. Some of the services
the unit provides are
as follows:-
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DATA
PROCESSING
The purpose of the Data Processing Section is to assess
taxpayers for all tax
types in accordance with
the relevant tax laws.
Key Responsibilities:
-
Generating notices of assessments to inform taxpayers of
their liability or
refund;
-
Providing taxpayers
with the relevant
remittances and pertinent
information;
-
Producing reminders
and estimated assessments
to non-filers for
the relevant tax types;
-
Producing installment notices, installment reminders and
estimated installments;
-
Creating files and registering related documents for all
taxpayers on the database;
-
Storing all taxpayer files and related documents;
-
Processing and editing remittances received for the relevant
tax types.
Assessments
The process of generating
a notice of assessment
involves four distinct
activities - Coding &
Editing, Correspondence,
Capturing Remittance and
Technical Review.
Records
After Income Tax Returns
have passed through the
processing cycle they
are placed in the custody
of this sub-unit where
they are filed. The staff
of this sub-unit must
ensure proper maintenance
and storage of files,
income tax returns and
related documents. The
officers also exercise
strict control over the
movement of tax returns
and or related documents
to and from the Filing
Room.
Files and file information
are created and recorded
on SIGTAS. This facilitates
the easy requesting and
returning of files and
the easy retrieval of
file information on SIGTAS.
Intelligence
Unit
This unit ensures that
an accurate taxroll is
maintained for ALL tax
types.
It is responsible for;
-
the processing of
taxpayer registration
forms.
-
updating registration
information as required
on the database;
-
generating property
tax assessments to
inform taxpayers of
their liability;
-
Preparing the following
tax rolls:-
-
Land tax roll
-
Delinquent taxpayer
roll
-
Taxpayers relief
roll
Systems
STANDARDISED INTEGRATED GOVERNMENT TAX ADMINISTRATION SYSTEM (SIGTAS)
The Inland Revenue uses
a fully computerised tax
system called the Standardised
Integrated Government
Tax Administration System
(SIGTAS).
SIGTAS is a fully networked
system running on a modern
database and network operating
system. The system
was developed using Oracle
as the relational database
management system (RDBMS),
one of the most powerful
RDBMS programs available
today. The system
runs on Microsoft Windows
NT 4.0 file server, with
Microsoft Windows 95,
98 & NT Clients on
the workstations.
SIGTAS has the following
features:
(a)
An automated tax-roll with unique taxpayer numbers;
(b)
An integrated view of taxpayers liabilities;
(c)
An automatic reminder to taxpayers that there is tax to pay
by producing automated
remittance forms;
(d)
Monitoring of non-filers and delinquent taxpayers;
(e)
Automated calculation of penalties and interest;
(f)
Management of payment agreements;
(g)
Automated management of the audit and collection cases.
The purpose of the Systems
Unit is to manage and
maintain the computerized
systems of the Department
Key Responsibilities:
Creating new user accounts for staff with relevant security
access to the network
and SIGTAS;
maintaining all computer hardware and software used in the
Department
Recommending the use of new developments in computer technology
to the Department
Training users on the use of the network, SIGTAS system and
other programs;
Providing general support to users of the network;
Maximizing the use of the network by reviewing and installing
programs that will enhance
the productivity of the
Department;
Assisting in the replication and support of SIGTAS in the
OECS sub-region.
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COLLECTIONS
The staff of this section
are responsible for the
collection of the taxes,
including penalties and
interest, which fall under
the jurisdiction of the
Inland Revenue Department,
and maintain accurate
records of these payments.
This section is sub-divided
into:
(a)
Cash Unit
(b)
Corporation Tax Unit
(c)
Individual and Miscellaneous
Taxes Unit
(d)
Enforcements Unit
Cash Unit
This Unit is responsible
for receiving and accounting
for all tax payments received.
Corporation Tax Unit
This Unit is responsible
for the timely collection
of income tax, both current
and arrears, from all
companies. It is
also charged with the
responsibility of enforcing
collection action against
delinquent corporations.
Individual & Miscellaneous
Taxes Unit
This Unit is responsible
for the timely collection
of income tax and miscellaneous
taxes, both current and
arrears, from all individuals
and individual enterprises.
It is also charged with
the responsibility of
enforcing collection action
against delinquent individuals
and traders.
Enforcement Unit
The Enforcement Unit is
responsible for the collection
of all outstanding taxes
from delinquent taxpayers.
By delinquent, we mean
taxpayers who have failed
to adhere to their arrear
payment plan, or those
who have failed to at
least three notices informing
them to attend an interview
to discuss their taxes.
The Enforcement Unit would
then implement or apply
one or several of the
following courses of action:
-
Judgment Debt
-
Court Action
-
Garnishment
-
Legal Hypothec
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AUDIT
The audit program is directed
at taxpayers who have
sources of income other
than regular salary generally,
self employed persons,
professionals, business
people and corporate taxpayers.
The program verifies that
the self-assessment system
is working properly this
usually involves the examination
of taxpayer books and
records.
Throughout the year, the
Audit Section undertakes
a constant evaluation
of the information submitted
on the Returns of Individuals,
Employers and Corporations.
By applying various criteria,
taxpayer Returns are selected.
When the Department notices
a significant lack of
compliance with tax laws
among any group of taxpayers,
all returns within that
group may come under closer
scrutiny. This approach
makes maximum use of departmental
resources and supports
voluntary compliance.
Audits vary with the complexity
of the taxpayers return
and involve limited or
detailed examinations
of the taxpayers records.
This may take from a few
days to several weeks
to complete. The records
of small businesses, professionals
and large corporations
may be audited.
Miscellaneous Tax Unit
The Miscellaneous Tax
unit is a Unit within
the Audit Section whose
main responsibility is
for the Auditing and Re-assessing
of the following tax heads;
Travel Tax
Insurance Premium Tax
Hotel Accommodation Tax
Contract Tax
Pay As You Earn - PAYE
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PROPERTY
TAX
The objective of the Property
tax Section is to value
and assess all properties
in accordance with the
Land & House Tax Ordinance.
Valuations:
The unit is staffed by
Valuation Surveyors and
assistants. Their
main duties are:
To conduct valuation of properties;
To maintain accurate valuation records; and
To compile market data and carry out market analyses for
property tax purpose.
Property Tax Assessment
This unit is responsible
for the timely preparation
of property tax notices
of assessment.
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