Vat on household consumption |26 March 2012

GST is levied on imported goods, manufactured goods and on services provided.  Vat on the other hand, will be levied on all imported goods and on all domestic supplies (of goods and services) except on those exempted under the Value Added Tax Act 2010.

Although Vat is generally applied on all goods and services sold in Seychelles, a number of household essential items will not carry Vat come July 1, 2012.

Which household items will not be charged Vat when sold?
• All types of meat (fresh, frozen or chilled only)
• All types of fish (fresh, frozen, salted, smoked or chilled only)
• All types of vegetables (fresh or chilled only)
• All types of fruits (fresh or dried only)
• Edible oils (Sunflower-seed, Olive oil, Soya-bean, Ground-nut oil, Safflower or Cotton-seed oil)
• Margarine (not the liquid ones)
• Salt
• Sugar
• Lentils
• Rice
• Flour
• Milk (milk and cream in powder not exceeding 1.5% fat;  milk and cream in powder with no added sugar or any other sweetener; full cream powder)
• Infant formulae
• Pharmaceutical products
• Energy saving light bulbs
All of the above listed items will not be charged with Vat when imported or sold. As a result, there should be no increase in the price of these items when Vat takes effect. Currently, some of the following items are imported with GST, and therefore there should be no increase in their price at least attributable to Vat. 
• All fruits (except apples and oranges)
• All vegetables (except potatoes and onions)
• Imported meat
• Imported fish
• Oil (except Sunflower oil )

Will there be some services which will not be Vat chargeable?
Yes, a large list of services will be free of Vat when it comes into effect on July 1, 2012. These are:
• Utilities (water and electricity supplied by PUC)
• Financial services (offered by banks and bureau de change )
• Educational services (including textbooks supplied)
• Health and dental services (offered by government hospitals, clinics and dental services only) and
• Life insurance
Similarly, there should be no increase in the price of the above when Vat comes into effect.

Not every business can charge Vat
In addition to this, only a limited number of businesses (300-500 among the largest) will be entitled to charge Vat. This means that most of the small shops, retailers, and other commercial businesses will not charge additional Vat on their sale prices if they have not registered as a Vat business.

For more information
You can contact Seychelles Revenue Commission on 4293737 or email us at advisory.center@src.gov.sc. The Value Added Tax Act, 2010 is available on the Seychelles Revenue Commission website (www.src.gov.sc).

Submitted by the Seychelles Revenue Commission