Modernization of Customs, Excise and VAT Areas

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The modernization of Customs and Excise and VAT, will make a significant contribution to the overall program of reform. By raising the efficiency of these operations, it aims to contribute to public sector productivity and saving. This Program will help the GOB to identify the key activities to compensate the estimated revenue losses for the next years, through the strengthening of the customs, excise and VAT management areas. In addition, it provides improved systems which will make Barbados better prepared for the more liberalized international economic conditions provided by the CSME, EPA and FTAA. The specific program objectives are: a) To facilitate the foreign trade operations, simplifying the current customs dispatch procedures, within a process geared to increase tax collection, through the strengthening of control and audit functions, raising at the same time the capacity to prevent and fight against fraud, using risk analysis criteria. b) To strengthen the compliance with the tax obligation through the modernization of the main tax administration processes, especially those corresponding to tax collection and audit. c) To strengthen the institutional management capacity, through the improvement of administrative processes and the implementation of a mechanism for the integration and strengthening of the supporting systems(planning, internal control, financing, human resource, etc). d) To provide better services to the taxpayers with the aim to facilitate the compliance of the tax obligations. e) To update the current hardware and software infrastructure under the new IT concepts, taking into consideration the international standards for data processing, with the aim to keep up with increasing complexity of the tax administration processes.