Government Reduces VAT and Tariffs to Ease Cost of Living and Boost Consumer Relief

• Government reduces VAT from 15 percent to 12.5 percent effective August 1st
• Tax relief of $250 million provided through VAT reduction
• Additional $250 million relief through zero-rated VAT on 22 essential items
• Total VAT relief of $500 million for Fijians
• Review of heavy tariff protection for domestic manufacturers and producers
• Tariff on chicken portions and offals reduced from 42 percent to 15 percent
• Fiscal duty on frozen fish reduced from 15 percent to 0 percent
• Fruits and vegetables like tomatoes and cabbage continue at 5 percent duty
• Other fruits and vegetables not available in Fiji continue at zero duty
• Everyday items like potatoes and cooking oil continue at zero duty
• Zero duty on lamb products continues
• Reduced duty for beef and other meats continues at 15 percent
• Five percent duty on dairy products maintained
• Previous exclusive tariff arrangement on dairy products removed

Source: fbcnews.com.fj

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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