VAT introduction in St. Lucia
20-07-2012
St. Lucia
The St. Lucia Senate has passed the Value Added Tax (VAT) Act. The Regime takes effect on 1st October 2012. St Lucia will now become the last independent member state in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to introduce the indirect tax regime. The VAT Act will replace the following legislations:
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Consumption Tax Act, Cap. 15.03
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Environmental Protection Levy Act, Cap.15.20
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Motor Vehicle Rental Fee Act, Cap.15.23
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Mobile Cellular Telephone (Tax) Act, Cap.15.36
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Hotel Accommodation Tax Act, Cap.15.10
The VAT rate is to be levied at 15% on goods and services with exception to the hotel sector (with VAT rate of 8% applicable until the end of April 2013).
However, a number of basic domestic and food items will be exempt from VAT, i.e. uncooked rice, flour, cane sugar, fresh chilled or frozen unprocessed/raw chicken and fish, butter, milk, unprocessed vegetables, fruits, fresh potatoes, unsweetened biscuits, table salt, uncooked peas and beans, and some type of baby food.
Water, electricity, fuel, fresh eggs, and uncooked pasta will be zero-rated.
To mitigate the impact of VAT on the consumer in respect of medical services, the Government has secured CARICOM’s approval to remove the import duty on medical supplies (though import VAT rate remains at 15%).
The threshold for VAT registration has been set at $180,000.
Should you wish to discuss this or if you would like further information please contact us by:
Tel: +44 208 601 4602
E-mail: info@meridianglobalservices.com
