The Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) monthly revenue collection continues to strengthen as the forecast has been surpassed for a second consecutive month. The strong collection has been attributed to the recovery of the tourism sector along with other key industries.

Net revenue for September recorded a total collection of $199.9m, which is above the month’s forecast by $4.7m or 2.4%. The collection is substantially higher by $78.1m in comparison to September 2021. It is also higher than the August 2022 collections by almost $9m.

According to FRCS CEO Mr. Mark Dixon, the considerable growth in revenue against last year September collections as well as against the forecast is showing resilience in the economy through the demonstration of strong recovery and growth.

The positive revenue collection for the month is attributed to significant improvement against September 2021 in the following tax types:

• Corporate Income Tax surged by $12.5m compared to September 2021 showing increased business confidence and a positive revenue outlook.
• Domestic VAT recorded growth by $24.1m revealing an increase in domestic economic activity along with the recovery of the tourism sector.
• Import VAT and fiscal duty increased by $26.2m and $5.9m respectively. This is attributed to an increase in the volume and the value of imports.
• Airport Departure Tax increased by $6.1m. The growth is attributed to the opening of international borders and travel to Fiji.

Mr. Dixon said that all these taxes are activity based and all of them are showing an upward trend.  He added that a similar trajectory is expected to continue as we head into the festive season in anticipation of increased imports, spending and consumption.

Meanwhile, revenue collections were not the only thing that kept us busy.

As part of our corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity, our Sports and Social Club members and their families cleaned the Savusavu Special School and the Nasavusavu District school last weekend.

“The corporate social responsibility activity at the schools in Savusavu was an excellent initiative by our team to do social good and give back to our community,” Mr. Dixon said.

“People often see us behind the counters collecting money but our CSR efforts show that we are also active in our communities, serving the Fijians and aspiring to bring about change.”

Mr. Dixon said FRCS will be undertaking more CSR initiatives in the coming months.