Inland Revenue Department extends Deadline for business License Payment
(ZIZ News) — Saturday 31st January 2015 should have been the deadline for business operators on St. Kitts and Nevis to pay their business licences at the Inland Revenue Department, however, the Department has granted an extension.
Senior Tax Inspector Sonia Boddie was a guest on ZIZ’s Upfront where she shared the new deadline and encouraged those affected take advantage of the extension.
“We have extended it up until Monday February 2nd so we want to take this opportunity to basically encourage our tax payers to visit us and pay your business license. Failure to pay your business license on time would result in you having to pay one percent interest per month for each month that your business license is unpaid. And if you continue to operate your business without having renewed your business license then you would be considered to be operating illegally within the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis,” she explained.
Boddie said there are other penalties in place for non-compliant business operators but stressed that her department seeks more to encourage compliance than reprimand business operators.
She said in cases where businesses have been registered but are no longer active, operators need to communicate this to Inland Revenue.
“There are persons for example, they have a business licence or they have been registered but they are not operating, it is also important that you come in and inform us and you complete a termination of registration form as well because once we check our system after the deadline, we’re going to start calling persons and telling them you’re not in compliant with the legislation and you need to come in and pay and you might say ‘well I have not been operating’ but unless you come in and inform us of that, as far as we’re concerned, you are non-compliant. So it’s important that any change in terms of your business status, whether you’re going to be inactive for a period of time or you’re closing your business, it’s important that you update us at the Department as well,” Boddie said.