Internal Revenue Commission (IRC)

In a small ceremony at the PNGPCL in Port Moresby, Minister for State Owned Enterprises William Duma presented the payment to IRC Commissioner General, Sam Koim in the presence of Kumul Consolidated Holdings (KCH) Managing Director Isikeli Taureka, PNGPCL Chairman Kepas Wali and its board members.

Mr Wali said the presentation was for the company’s provisional taxes for the balance of this year, as well as half of the 2019 net unassessed income tax.

Staff from the IRC taxpayer services unit made this clarification during an SME workshop in Lae, Morobe Province.

The collects a majority of PNG’s revenue through taxes, which drive the nation through the annual budget.

Schools, hospitals, roads and bridges are just some of the infrastructure and services made possible through tax collection.

The Internal Revenue Commission (IRC) now has an office at the Jiwaka provincial headquarters at Kurumul.

The office was officially opened on January 11^th by Jiwaka Governor, Dr. William Tongamp, and Commissioner General of IRC, Sam Koim.

The office was allocated by the Jiwaka Provincial Government as part of its objective to empower and benefit from revenues generated by IRC in the province.

IRC assigned three officers to Jiwaka and also delivered a new Toyota Land Cruiser to support the work in Jiwaka.

This was confirmed in a meeting held between the Southern Highlands Provincial Administrator, Joseph Kajetan, and IRC Commissioner General Sam Koim in Mendi yesterday.

The IRC office in Mendi closed down in 2017 during election related violence.

Since then Southern Highlands taxpayers were serviced by the Hagen Regional Tax Centre. The Commissioner General and the IRC team visited Mendi to see the business activities in the province and explore the possibility of reopening its office.

It is hoped that the renewal of the memorandum of understanding between the Internal Revenue Commission (IRC) and the Investment Promotion Authority (IPA) will reduce it.

The MOU signed between the two agencies on the 14^th of May allows for an efficient, streamlined process.

IRC Commissioner General, Sam Koim, said this partnership, which was first signed in 2013, allows ease of access for citizens and clients.

The MOU forges a partnership between the East Sepik Provincial Government and IRC to increase compliance activities in the province. 

The MOU was signed by Governor Allan Bird and his administration and IRC Commissioner General, Sam Koim.

Governor Bird described the MOU as a culmination of two-and-a-half years of preparatory work.

“One of the first thing I did when taking office as governor was to check the internal revenue resources,” stated Bird.

This was stated by Acting Commissioner General for IRC, Sam Koim, last week at the Revenue Haus when announcing a 3-month amnesty period for all taxpayers to settle debts before the period ends.

With the reinstatement of Koim’s position for another 3 months, he aims to improve all processes to put the Revenue Haus in order by going after outstanding cases of taxpayers.

Acting Commissioner General, Sam Koim, said this provision has been abused and they will not allow it any further.

Koim said this when announcing that the IRC had identified a pattern of employers’ diverting salary and wages tax to other operational expenses.

“In the past, taxpayers have been allowed to use GST credits to offset their salaries and wages taxes pursuant to Section 91(5) of the Goods and Services Act 2003.

Acting Commissioner General, Sam Koim, said the practice is a breach of trust between the employer and employee, and is seen as theft and criminal in nature.

The monies, which they believe run in the hundreds of millions of kina, are then used to run other aspects of their operations.

Companies who evade tax have been warned that strict penalties will be applied going forward.

Prime Minister James Marape, while on a visit to the Internal Revenue Commission Office with Treasurer Sam Basil, warned big companies who have been evading tax that their time is up, and they must own up as forensic audit will be conducted.