The Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) collected a net revenue of $193.8m in June 2022, the highest monthly revenue collected during and post COVID-19 pandemic period. The collections outperformed the forecast by $15.3m or 8.5 percent. The forecast for June 2022 was $178.5m. The collections for June 2022 are also 57.8% or $70.99m, higher over June 2021.
FRCS CEO, Mr. Mark Dixon said this is really great news because it indicates that the Fijian economy is growing and recovering strongly post COVID.
“The tax collections were across all tax types, which shows that it is not only tourism that is doing fantastically well but all elements of our economy are recovering from COVID and delivering strong results and creating new jobs,” Mr. Dixon said.
Consumption taxes such as Domestic VAT (Value Added Tax), Import VAT, Fiscal Duty and Domestic Excise have all increased considerably with some of the tax types recording their highest levels in 2 years.
The promising improvement noted in the international tourism space has also seen a strong increase in the Departure Tax collection.
According to Mr. Dixon, given the improved economic conditions, coupled with the pick-up in investment activities and expected high consumption demand, revenue collections are expected to maintain their positive trend.
“We are confident that those revenue collections will continue to be strong for the rest of this year and things are looking good into the next year as well,” he said.