New VAT zero-rated list effective from tomorrow
Guyana Chronicle
January 28, 2007
THE Value Added Tax (VAT) Act Order Number 3 of 2007 was yesterday published in the Official Gazette and will take effect from tomorrow, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) announced yesterday.
It said the order was made in exercise of the powers conferred upon the Minister of Finance by Section 98 of the VAT Act No. 10 of 2005.
The National Assembly on January 23 last amended the VAT Act to allow the Minister of Finance to make changes to Schedules I and II of the Act, the authority noted.
It said the order seeks to amend Schedule I to zero-rate the following items:
** all cooking oils, margarine and other items qualifying under heading 15:17 of the First Schedule Part I of the Customs Act
** uncooked birds eggs, excluding hatching eggs
** cooking salt
** dried black-eye peas, but not including canned black-eye peas
** locally produced jams, jellies or peanut butter
** unflavoured cracker biscuits, but not including sweet biscuits
** and a supply of matches
Among other items to be zero-rated are preparations for oral or dental hygiene, including denture fixative pastes and powders, and yarn used to clean between the teeth (dental floss), toilet or medicated soap in bars, soap powder and dish washing liquid, toilet tissue in rolls, and sanitary napkins.
Also to be zero-rated are goods when imported and works and consultancy services purchased by a budget agency named in the schedule to the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act 2003;
a supply of goods and services under an investment agreement entered into on behalf of the government with taxable persons;
a supply of the services of transporting passengers or goods by air from one place in Guyana to another place in Guyana subject to the signing of an agreement between the government and the supplier of the service;
river or land crossing services subject to the signing of an agreement between the government and the supplier of the service;
veterinary drugs as determined by the Commissioner;
services provided or spectacles prescribed by an optometrist in the treatment of the human eye and visual system;
funeral services and human remains.
The GRA said a supply of locally produced sand, stone, plywood, lumber or similar materials of a type and quality used for construction, but not including items containing imported materials, except in the case of concrete blocks and plywood are also to be zero-rated by the order.
Other amendments include toner cartridges and ink cartridges for computer printers, a supply of prepared poultry feed, cattle feed, pig feed, and other prepared animal feed and ingredients thereof as determined by the Commissioner, but not including pet feed.
Further, a number of meat products including uncooked fresh, chilled or frozen chicken, locally produced uncooked fresh, chilled or frozen pork, beef, shrimp, mutton, fish and salted fish, but not including canned products will also be taxed at a zero-rate effective from tomorrow.
In the agriculture sector, vegetable seeds used for gardening purposes, ice for fishing purposes, knotted netting of twine, cordage or rope, made up fishing nets and other made up nets, of textile materials, fungicide, herbicide, weedicide for agriculture purposes, harrows, cultivators, scarifiers, ploughs, weeders and hoes, and machinery used for preparing animal feeding stuff will also be zero-rated.
The order also lists the following to be zero-rated: locally produced garments, sewing machines and of spools, cops, bobbins and other similar products used therewith, sacks and bags of a kind used for the packaging of goods and motor vehicles when imported by any diplomatic mission or consulate or diplomats accredited to Guyana who qualify under the first Schedule Part III B 2 Item 6 made under the Customs Act Cap. 82.01, and goods or services for use by persons qualifying under the First Schedule Part III B 2 Item 44 (i) and (ii) of the Customs Act.
The provision of internet services subject to the signing of an agreement between the government and the supplier of the service as well as machinery or equipment for generating electricity from non-traditional sources (for example, solar energy, wind mill, bio-gas etc.) provided that they are solely of a type used for household purposes only will be zero-rated for VAT purposes, the GRA said.