VAT Amendment Bill passed

THE Value-Added Tax Amendment Bill, which provides relief for the disabled, the State and communal farmers, was passed by the National Assembly on Thursday.

The law will be deemed to have come into effect on April 1 2004. In her concluding remarks, after the passing of the Bill, Finance Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila pleaded with businesses to comply with the law and not to increase prices to offset the zero-rating of aids and devices for the disabled.The Minister said the amendments would facilitate better administration of the VAT Act and bring relief to the State and those who are vulnerable and in need.In terms of the new law, donations to the State and welfare institutions will be exempt from import duties.Farmers registered as VAT payers will no longer have to pay taxes on livestock purchased for export purposes.Communal farmers will also not have to pay VAT on animals purchased from commercial farmers.The law will allow the State to obtain land for resettlement free from tax.New penalties for the failure to submit tax returns on time have been set at 20 per cent a year as simple interest from the day after the deadline for settlement.In her concluding remarks, after the passing of the Bill, Finance Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila pleaded with businesses to comply with the law and not to increase prices to offset the zero-rating of aids and devices for the disabled.The Minister said the amendments would facilitate better administration of the VAT Act and bring relief to the State and those who are vulnerable and in need.In terms of the new law, donations to the State and welfare institutions will be exempt from import duties.Farmers registered as VAT payers will no longer have to pay taxes on livestock purchased for export purposes.Communal farmers will also not have to pay VAT on animals purchased from commercial farmers.The law will allow the State to obtain land for resettlement free from tax.New penalties for the failure to submit tax returns on time have been set at 20 per cent a year as simple interest from the day after the deadline for settlement.