2023 Laws not yet authenticated through a Commencement Order

Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2023)

11.   Refunds of excess input tax deductions and other overpayments

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    11.1   Carryover of excess deductions.—Under sections 57(1) to 57(3) of the Act, except as provided in section 57(5), the general rule is that a taxable person must carry forward excess input tax deductions to three consecutive tax periods before the person is eligible to apply for a refund of any unused excess input tax deductions. For example, except as provided under this clause, if a taxable person has excess input tax deductions for March, the person must carry forward those excess input tax deductions to April. If the excess deductions are not fully used up against output tax in the April through June tax periods, the person may file a claim for a refund of the excess deductions remaining. The oldest carryover is used first. For example, if a taxable person has excess deductions for March and April, the excess deductions from March are used against the output tax in May before the excess deductions from April are used against the output tax in May. The Comptroller generally has one calendar month to pay the refund upon application; that is, the Comptroller has until the end of July to pay the refund. However, under section 57(4) of the Act, if the Comptroller orders an audit of the refund claim, then the Comptroller has until the end of 10 working days after the conclusion of the audit to pay the refund. The time provided for the payment of a refund of excess input tax deductions is subject to an overall limit. Under section 57(4) of the Act, the Comptroller is required to pay the refund only to the extent that the Comptroller is satisfied that the taxpayer is entitled to the amount of the refund claimed.

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    11.2   Refund claims related to the commencement of a taxable activity.—Section 57(4) of the Act provides that the Comptroller is required to pay a refund of excess input tax deductions only to the extent the Comptroller is satisfied that the taxpayer is entitled to the amount of the refund claimed. Generally, when a taxable person claims a refund of excess deductions under section 57(4) of the Act that is attributable to the commencement of a taxable activity, the Comptroller will not be satisfied that the taxable person is entitled to the refund claimed unless, from the available evidence, the Comptroller is satisfied that the taxable person will be using the goods and services giving rise to the excess deductions to engage in the making of taxable supplies.

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    11.3   Refund claims under section 57(8) of the Act.—If a person overpays tax other than in circumstances specified in section 57(1)(a) of the Act, then under section 57(8) of the Act, the person may file a claim for a refund of the excess. This procedure may apply, for example, to a person who is registered or not registered, and later discovers that a calculation error resulted in the overpayment of VAT on previously-reported transactions. However, if a person pays more tax on the import of goods or services than is imposed by the Act, the person must apply for a refund to the Comptroller. An application for refund to the Comptroller may also be made in the circumstance when goods are consigned to a returning resident in care of a local representative, who pays the tax due as a deposit. When the returning resident arrives, he or she can process an import declaration and apply for a refund of the deposit to the extent that the returning resident meets the conditions of the exemption for the import of goods by returning residents in Schedule 3 of the Act.

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    11.4   Refund claim form.—A person entitled to file a claim for a refund of tax under section 57 of the Act must file the claim on the refund form required by the Comptroller, together with documentary proof required by the Comptroller to support the claim for refund.