In pursuit of its mission of promoting a good business climate for its members, BOCCIM facilitated a briefing by BURS regarding advanced plans by the latter to introduce E-filing and E-payment services to improve the ease of paying tax and remove unnecessary queues.
BOCCIM is excited that this move by BURS will significantly enhance the quality of BURS services. The introduction of the system was also prompted by delays in providing different BURS services including registration, filing and payment of taxes.
The new system, which was enthusiastically welcomed by the business community, is set to provide a new, secure and accountable 24 hour service for filing of tax returns including VAT.
Through technology, businesses will now have access to these services through computers, Tablets, Smart phones and other gadgets from the comfort of their offices, cars or homes. BURS also informed the business community of plans to send SMS (Short Message Services) and email notification to remind businesses to file their tax returns.
BOCCIM, as the leading advocacy group for private sector led growth, is prepared to assist BURS to reach out to the private sector on reforms such as this which are aimed at improving the efficiency of tax administration and compliance.
Speaking at the meeting, the acting BURS Commissioner General, Segolo Lekau, said, “This service is to eliminate manual work which in many cases is prone to human error and reduce the number of people who normally flock to our offices for service.”
He stressed that the service will, therefore, provide immediate access to data, transparency, consistency and integrity. It would also serve as a platform for cooperation with other authorities and partners.
The E-service will be rolled out in phases, with the first one comprising 500 tax payers to be piloted in September 2013. The final phase is billed for the end of March 2014.
