The Tribune

The Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) has urged tourism-related companies to become VAT registrants now and avoid the “mad rush” that will occur by waiting until the November 30 deadline.

The BHTA delivered this message at VAT readiness workshops in Bimini, Cat Island, Long Island, Exuma and Abaco, which it facilitaed for the Ministry of Finance, and in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism.

Stuart Bowe, the BHTA’s president, warned: “Those businesses which wait until the last minute to register, or who seek to register after the deadline, may find themselves in a situation where they have insufficient time to be fully prepared when VAT comes into effect on January 1, 2015.”

The BHTA fears there will be a mass rush of businesses seeking to register as VAT-payers on the November 30 deadline.

This, it says, will result in businesses needing to wait longer than the two to three-week turnaround it is currently taking the Ministry of Finance to review each registration application, ensure it is accurate and complete, and issue a TIN and VAT Certificate.

A business must register to receive a VAT Tax Identification Number (TIN). The TIN is essential for a business to claim credits on its VAT ‘input’ payments.

Otherwise they risk paying more tax to the Government then they should.

BHTA advises that the TIN must be listed on invoices, sales receipts, and other documents. The only way they can receive a TIN is to be registered.

Throughout the BHTA’s training workshops, businesses are being walked through the registration process.

They are also being directed to the Ministry of Finance website at www.bahamas.gov.bs/vat, where they can find an online tutorial and instructions are clearly spelled out to assist with registration.

For most businesses, the online process should only take 15-20 minutes.

To ensure a smooth registration, prior to registering online companies should have key information ready. This includes:

* Taxpayer Contact Information, such as the individual’s or business address, mailing address, phone, fax and mobile numbers.

* Business License number and date the license was issued

* Business Licence Control Number

* Indication of Projected Business Activity - the annual turnover, as reported for the Business License or the estimated turnover.

* A real property tax assessment number if applicable

* Bank details – name of bank, branch, account name, account number, bank branch routing number

* Current Business Licence Number

* National Insurance Board number

More than 400 participants have attended the tourism-related VAT readiness workshops, which have been held on seven islands.

At least three more workshops are planned.