FINANCE MINISTER Colm Imbert has said 6,100 small and medium-sized businesses will receive their outstanding value added tax (VAT) refunds over the next two weeks.
In a post on X on January 18, Imbert said this would total $691 million in payments.
In his budget presentation in the House of Representatives on September 30, Imbert said the government was aware that a significant sum of VAT refunds was outstanding.
"In appreciation of the situation, recognising that companies depend on VAT refunds for cash flow, the Ministry of Finance intends once again to issue interest-bearing VAT bonds in fiscal 2025 in the sum of $3 billion with a target date for issuance of January 31, 2025," he had said.
Imbert had promised to pay small and medium enterprises who are owed refunds “in cash by December 31, 2024.”
This had not materialised and several business people had raised concerns.
On January 16, Imbert said the payments had been delayed by cash flow constraints and not bureaucracy.
In a Ministry of Finance news release, he said, "Cash-flow constraints have resulted in a one-month delay in completing this exercise, not bureaucracy. Accordingly," Imbert said, "There is now sufficient cash flow to fulfil the commitment made with respect to VAT refunds to SMEs (small and medium enterprises) by the end of January."
He continued that because oil and gas production was below estimated levels, coupled with depressed oil and gas prices in the latter half of the calendar year 2024, the revenue the government collected in the last three months of last year was lower than expected.
"As a result, the government had to prioritise its expenditure, address urgent bills first and delay VAT refunds.”
He said the situation had improved with a recovery in oil and gas prices last November and December, and revenue collection stemming from the tax amnesty "has been on the uptick."
Imbert’s post concluded, “Following this, in February, we shall start to process individual income tax refunds.”
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