The GST Department is responsible for administering the Value Added Tax: GST, a tax on the domestic consumption of goods and/or services (not exports), paid as a percentage of their monetary value at the time they are sold. There are some exceptions, but most goods and services normally attract GST.

The Tax is chargeable at every stage of production, distribution and supply (as value is added to the product or service) and is collected by GST-registered businesses when they sell goods and/or services that have been defined by law as taxable.

Businesses must register for GST if their annual turnover (not just sales) of goods and services exceeds a set limit, or threshold.

GST-registered businesses must account for GST in their sales records. They must make regular returns and pay to the taxation authority the tax they collect from their customers However, at the same time, GST-registered businesses are able to reclaim, or offset, GST they have paid on their business expenses, subject to certain condition. In this way, although the full amount of tax (based on the value of the final product or service), is borne by the consumer or user, there is no ‘tax on tax’ effect. GST is not paid on GST.

GST is regarded as a very cost-effective and efficient tax and, as such, it is in use in various forms in more than 100 countries around the world.