The Internal Revenue Commission (IRC) on Monday 20 December 2021, launched a new online client platform called ‘myIRC’.
In its final development stage, IRC Commissioner General Sam Koim announced the development of the online platform on Friday 1 October 2021. Koim described the endeavor as part of the IRC's efforts to achieving a new technological horizon.
At the launch, Koim said IRC has been a passive tax collector for many years. He said the commission has a lot of ‘laborious manual work’ and thus with the launch of the user-friendly client platform, IRC will operate in a more efficient and cost-effective manner.
“By 2025, by the time I leave the organization, we want to see IRC becoming the modern, efficient and robust tax administration,” said Koim.
The newly launched online client platform was developed by NiuPay Limited. Chief Executive Officer for NiuPay James Inglis said ‘myIRC’ at its core is a digital self-service platform that will allow taxpayers to interact with IRC.
Inglis said NiuPay is committed to ensuring solutions provided are up-to-date and are of the highest possible standards in data and platform security.
The Niupay CEO said ‘myIRC’ was developed to be user-friendly. A similar approach used to develop online platforms for the Immigration and Citizenship Authority and the Department of Lands and Physical Planning.
The platform will offer a suite of IRC taxation services online. It will enable individuals and organisations, for the first time, to lodge returns, pay their taxes, as well as other interactions previously only performed at an IRC office.
As part of IRC’s improved services, the Online Payment Portal will ease Taxpayers' payment and filing obligations. This facility will also host other services previously only available at the counter:
- Payments online
- Lodgments
- Tax agents management accounts
- TIN validity lookup
- Certificate of Compliance
- MyIRC online support centre
IRC assures that all these services will be performed in a highly secured cloud platform hosted by Amazon Web Services.
Koim said, “Our well architected service will be constantly evolving to meet the needs of the tax administration and taxpayers even post launch as we strive to ensure we have a system that fully meets the taxpayers needs and is asymmetrical with best practices and security accreditation.”
Present at the launch was Prime Minister James Marape, Minister for Lands and Physical Planning John Rosso, Chief Immigration Officer Stanis Hulahau, Australian High Commissioner to PNG Jon Philp and Kina Bank’s Executive General Manager Lesieli Taviri.
Prime Minister Marape commended the IRC for the launch of this vital client portal together with the PNG Immigration & Citizenship Authority for the outstanding work carried out by both departments.
“For Papua new Guinea, we tried our absolute best and I just want to say to those of you in this room, especially representing IRC and Customs, our two chief revenue officers, that you have done the nation extremely good service and I’m totally proud the way IRC and Customs have held themselves both in 2020 and 2021.
“IRC and Customs have performed to top speed as expected of them,” PM Marape added.