Vanuatu Tax Authority: Registration and Filing Rules

Meet the Department of Customs and Inland Revenue: Vanuatu's Tax AdministrationCopy link to section

The tax authority in Vanuatu is the Department of Customs and Inland Revenue (DCIR), the government body responsible for collecting the country's indirect taxes, duties, and fees. It sits within the public service and reports through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management, with its work published on the official DCIR site.

For a foreign owner, the point that matters most is what this authority does not collect. There is no income tax, no corporate tax, and no capital gains tax to administer, so DCIR's relationship with your business centres on consumption tax and a narrow set of fees.

This article explains who the authority is, what it administers, how registration and filing work, and where the real compliance obligations lie for an entity owned from abroad. It is written for non-resident investors and their advisers weighing incorporation in the jurisdiction or maintaining an existing company there.

What the Authority Actually Administers in a No-Income-Tax JurisdictionCopy link to section

Vanuatu imposes no income tax, no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax, and no wealth tax. The authority therefore raises revenue from indirect sources rather than from profits or earnings.

Value Added Tax is the centrepiece. Levied at 15% both at the border and on domestic consumption, VAT is the government's main revenue source and the single most important compliance obligation for any business trading in the country.

Beyond VAT, both the Customs and Inland Revenue arms collect import duties, vehicle licence fees, and business licence fees. The only income-style charge is a rental income tax set at 12.5%, and dividends paid by local companies generally face no withholding tax.

There is no concept of a "tax year" here, which is why no annual income-tax filing exists for companies or individuals.

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The Legal Mandate and Statutory Basis for Revenue CollectionCopy link to section

The principal statute governing the authority is the Tax Administration Act No. 37 of 2018, which sets out how DCIR assesses, collects, and enforces tax and requires the department to provide the Minister of Finance with an annual report. The detailed machinery, including taxpayer identification numbers, returns, assessments, payment procedures, and tax clearance certificates, sits in the Tax Administration Regulation Order No. 154 of 2019.

VAT itself was introduced in 1998, originally at 12.5% and later raised to the rate now in force. The 2019 Regulation Order also establishes the Revenue Tribunal and the rules for registering tax agents.

A package of reforms took effect on 1 January 2020. These made Tax Identification Numbers mandatory, set explicit record-keeping duties, updated the forms, opened the door to electronic filing and payment, and revised penalties. From 1 April 2020, any tax agent acting on a client's behalf must be registered with the department.

Policy and drafting work is handled separately by the Tax Policy Unit inside the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management, which works closely with DCIR on legislation.

Registering as a Taxpayer: VAT and Business Licence EnrolmentCopy link to section

Before any tax registration, a business must register with the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC) to obtain its business licence. VAT registration follows for firms whose annual gross turnover reaches or is expected to exceed VUV 4 million.

The VAT Act requires a liable business to register with the VAT Office within 21 days of crossing that threshold. Firms below it may register voluntarily, the main benefit being the ability to reclaim input tax on taxable supplies they receive.

Registration carries no fee. Where no physical site visit is needed, it completes in two to three days; if an inspection is required, timing depends on staff availability and the location of the business.

On approval, the authority issues a confirmation letter, a Tax Identification Number (the CT Number), the registration date, the due date for the first return, and a VAT book containing 12 blank return forms. Replacement books cost VUV 1,000.

Foreign applicants face two extra documentary requirements:

• A copy of the Vanuatu Investment Promotion Authority (VIPA) approval certificate
• A copy of the VFSC certificate of incorporation

A guide to the process is published by the foreign investment agency.

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E-Services, Online Portals and Electronic Filing OptionsCopy link to section

The 2018 reform signalled an intent to expand electronic compliance channels, and some online systems are operational. VAT-registered businesses are invited to enrol in the Vanuatu Sales Monitoring System (VSMS), an electronic sales-tracking tool run by DCIR.

A separate portal, the Multi Data Exchange System (MDES), handles Automatic Exchange of Information registration and reporting by financial institutions; new institutions register on MDES between 1 February and 31 March each year. A Trade Portal publishes requirements for goods trade, investment, and immigration.

Standard VAT returns, by contrast, are still filed using the paper booklet issued by the department or in person at its Port Vila office. No fully online filing portal for routine VAT returns is publicly confirmed, so a foreign owner should plan for paper-based or in-office filing through a local agent.

The Filing and Payment Calendar Foreign Owners Should KnowCopy link to section

VAT returns are filed monthly by default, with payment of the VAT collected during the period. Businesses with annual taxable supplies below VUV 8 million may apply to file quarterly instead.

The deadline in either case is the 28th of the month following the taxable period. Records must be kept for at least five years after the end of the period to which they relate.

Financial institutions carry an additional calendar: MDES registration runs from 1 February to 31 March, and CRS reports must be uploaded by 31 May each year. The due date for rent-tax returns is not separately published beyond the late-penalty structure described below.

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Assessment, Audit and Record-Keeping ObligationsCopy link to section

Audit work runs through DCIR's Intelligence, Interpretation and Investigation Section, which provides audit services across the department. For VAT, the Value Added Tax Act sets out exactly what must be kept and for how long.

Required records include books of account, whether manual, mechanical, or electronic, along with tax invoices, credit and debit notes, and any document needed to verify accounting entries. These apply to all businesses and to property investors alike.

The five-year retention rule holds even where a business has ceased, and the period extends if an amended assessment or audit has taken place. Owners of international (IBC-type) companies must keep accounting records and oversee capital flows, but they are not required to file those records with the authority.

For financial institutions, DCIR runs CRS compliance checks on selected entities each quarter.

Enforcement Powers, Penalties and Dispute ChannelsCopy link to section

The 2018 Act widened the authority's powers to recover debt and gather information, and revised the penalty regime. Late VAT filing and late payment both attract penalties, with interest accruing on unpaid VAT from the due date.

Rent tax carries its own scale: a daily late-filing penalty of VUV 3,000 for an individual or VUV 5,000 for an entity, plus late-payment interest at a daily rate equivalent to 20% per annum until the debt is cleared.

A taxpayer who disputes a decision can take the matter to the Revenue Tribunal, a formal channel whose procedures are set in the 2019 Regulation Order.

Offices, Contact Points and How to Reach the Authority from AbroadCopy link to section

DCIR employs more than 150 staff and keeps offices in Port Vila and Luganville, plus provincial centres at Lenakel, Lakatoro, Saratamata, and Sola. The Inland Revenue side is led by a Director and two Deputy Directors, one for Revenue and one for Enforcement and Services.

The headquarters sits in the La Casa D'Andrea E Luciano Building on Rue Pierre Lamy in Port Vila, reachable by telephone on (+678) 33010. International obligations are handled by a dedicated Exchange of Information unit set up on 1 January 2020 and staffed by three officers.

One practical caution applies before you transmit any data. Every genuine government site ends in .gov.vu, and the department itself warns advisers to verify a site's authenticity first.

What This Means for a Non-Resident Owner or AdviserCopy link to section

No direct taxes fall on individuals or companies, and you file no annual income return whether your income arises abroad or locally, unless it comes from rent. That is the genuine attraction of the jurisdiction for a foreign owner.

The recurring trap is reading zero corporate tax as zero compliance. A company must still maintain corporate governance, file annual returns with the VFSC, and meet international reporting standards; operating from a no-tax base can also draw scrutiny from authorities in countries where you have ties.

VAT cuts across all of this. Any entity carrying on a taxable activity with turnover at or expected to reach VUV 4 million must register and file, resident or not.

On the transparency front, the country is a member of the OECD Global Forum and has signed the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters alongside 128 other states. It maintains 14 Tax Information Exchange Agreements and signed the CRS Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on 21 June 2018, committing to automatic exchange of financial account data. The department's international work is set out on its exchange of information page.

• No confirmed FATCA Intergovernmental Agreement with the United States was found; advisers with US-connected clients should verify directly through the IRS FATCA portal.

ConclusionCopy link to section

Vanuatu's tax authority administers consumption tax and fees rather than taxes on profit or income, which leaves VAT as the central obligation for most foreign-owned firms. A non-resident owner gains genuine simplicity on direct tax, but keeps real duties around VAT registration, record-keeping, VFSC filings, and international reporting. The enforcement reach of the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance means unpaid liabilities follow an owner across borders. Treating the absence of income tax as the absence of compliance is the costliest assumption you can make.

How Expanship Can Help Your Business in VanuatuCopy link to section

Expanship supports foreign owners with the matters that actually touch the tax authority here, from VAT registration and the VIPA and VFSC documents it requires to ongoing return filing and record-keeping, and from there across the wider needs of running an entity in the jurisdiction.

• Company formation and structuring for foreign owners
• Registered agent and registered office services
• VAT registration and recurring return filing
• Ongoing compliance and annual VFSC return management
• Accounting and bookkeeping aligned to the five-year retention rule
• Introductions to banking partners

To discuss your situation, contact Expanship Vanuatu.

Frequently Asked QuestionsCopy link to section