By Sue-Ann Wayow
THE Tax and National Insurance Amnesty has been extended to August 2, 2025 for a fourth time.
This time it was announced by Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo via media release on Wednesday.
The necessary Orders to extend time have been published as Legal Notices No. 211, 212, 213, 214 and 215 of 2025.
The public is reminded that the Tax Amnesty covers penalties and interest in relation to the following taxes up to the year of income ending December 31, 2023:
- Individual Income Tax
- Pay-as-You Earn (PAYE)
- Health Surcharge
- Corporation Tax
- Business Levy
- Green Fund Levy
- Value Added Tax (VAT)
- Petroleum Profits Tax (PPT)
- Supplemental Petroleum Tax (SPT)
- Unemployment Levy
- Stamp Duty
- Insurance Premium Tax
- Club Gaming Tax
- Hotel Accommodation Tax
- Tax on Financial Services
- Withholding Tax
- Gaming Amusement Tax
The National Insurance Amnesty covers all interest and penalties outstanding on contributions prior to October 1, 2024 and applies only to employers registered with the National Insurance Board prior to October 1, 2024.
The release stated, “Where a taxpayer/employer fails to pay his outstanding tax/contributions during the Tax and National Insurance Amnesty, the penalties and interest which would have been payable in respect of the failure to pay the tax/contributions shall be revived and become payable as if the waiver had not been granted.”
The Tax and National Insurance Amnesty was introduced by the Finance Act, 2024 with effect from October 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024.
Originally scheduled to end on December 31, 2024, the amnesty was first extended to January 31, 2025. It was again extended by former Finance Minister Colm Imbert to March 31, 2025 via media release the date it was supposed to end.
And it was again extended by former finance minister Vishnu Dhanpaul to May 2, 2025 on March 28, prior to the general election of April 28 and a change in government.
