Introducing electronic payment for tax |22 May 2014

The Seychelles Revenue Commission (SRC) has embarked on various projects to make it easier and cheaper for taxpayers to meet their tax obligations. In 2010 SRC introduced the Taxation E-Service in an effort to bring more online services to taxpayers. This allowed for online filing of payroll to start with and in 2013 the facility was extended to allow the online filing of the BAS and VAT returns as well. While the E-Filing facility is already being used by some businesses, the inconvenience of having to  come to the SRC offices to make payment still exists. The introduction of the Electronic (E) Payment facility in June this year will remove this inconvenience hence further improving the service that SRC is currently providing to the taxpayers. This E-payment facility will allow taxpayers to pay their taxes without having to leave the comfort of their office and at their convenience.

What is E-Payment?

An electronic payment (E-payment) is a way of paying for goods or services electronically, instead of using cash or cheque in person or by mail. In the case of tax payments this will be made directly to SRC from your Bank Accounts using confined security features over the internet. Electronic payments start with an arrangement taxpayers make with their financial institutions (banks) to have funds withdrawn from their account and transferred to that of SRC.

What are the benefits of E-Payment?

•    Convenience: Many internet users expect speed and convenience. By offering taxpayers  the ability to file their returns and make payment online, SRC services will be open for business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

•    Time and cost saving: Taxpayers will be able to make the payment on their own, without having to queue up at SRC counters and without the reliance on SRC staff to make their payment. You do not need to pay someone to process your transactions, and you do not need to pay to produce paper invoices and statements.

•    Ease of online data and financial information storage: Businesses will be able to reduce the amount of paperwork and financial records they have to keep simply by storing this information online.
It is very convenient and hassle free. With the advancement in information technology, businesses should be thinking of using this facility as it will be beneficial to them.

Businesses do not have to worry about security aspects of this facility as it is secure. The E-Payment facility is based on:

-    Credential: This proves who you are and establishes if you are authorized to use the service.

-   Verification and Activation: Before an organisation can access the E-Payment, their identities need to be verified after registration.

-    Security Levels: Each e-service has a security level to determine its authentication mechanism.

How to get access to the E-payment facility?

In order to be able to use the E-payment facility the business first needs to be register with SRC to get the e-ID, password and access code for the facility. Registration can be done at any of SRC’s offices on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue. An ID card only (If the person registering the business is the owner) and an ID card and a letter of authorisation (If the person registering the business is a company representative) are required for registration.

Once registered, the taxpayer simply needs to go to the government e-service gateway at https://eservice.egov.sc/egateway/homepage.aspx (also available from the SRC’s website (www.src.gov.sc)) to access the e-service facility and start using it. A guide with step by step instructions on how to file tax returns and pay taxes online is available at the SRC’s office and also on the SRC’s website for download.

Is the e-payment facility available to all businesses registered with SRC?

The e-payment facility for paying taxes is available for all registered taxpayers to use. However for the time being only Barclays Bank is offering this service to their Customers. Taxpayers with a bank account with Barclays Bank will be directed to the Barclays portal where they will be guided on how to proceed with their tax payment.

During the course of the year SRC hopes that other banks follow suit and offer this facility to their customers so that the facility can be used by the whole taxpayer population.


For more Information

If you require more information about accessing the Taxation E-Service, you can call us on 4293741 or collect a copy of our Taxation E-Service Guide at the Advisory Centre, Room 2-Ground Floor at Ocean gate House or download a copy from our website (www.src.gov.sc). An electronic copy can also be forwarded to you by e-mail.