By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Chamber of Commerce’s chairman yesterday pledged to “hold the Government to account” over Value-Added Tax (VAT) filing extensions granted to businesses hit hard by Hurricane Matthew.

Gowon Bowe confirmed to Tribune Business that the Chamber, on the private sector’s behalf, had sought a “blanket” extension of the time granted for businesses to submit their VAT paperwork in the Category Four storm’s wake.

He added that in discussions with Michael Halkitis, minister of state for finance, and his officials, the Chamber had also suggested that businesses remit VAT payments to the Government by the normal deadline.

However, it also sought an agreement from the Government that VAT registrants pay an “estimated” sum, and that any discrepancies would subsequently be ‘made good’ without any penalties imposed as the paperwork caught up.

Mr Bowe said that while the Ministry of Finance did not want to grant the Chamber’s “blanket” extension, it would grant deadline waivers on an individual basis to firms that were impacted by Matthew, and no penalties would be imposed.

“We felt the paper filing should have been extended as businesses were impacted by access to their accounting records and the loss of electricity,” he told Tribune Business.

“We sought a compromise: Business pay on time based on the estimated VAT, businesses make a best effort to pay on time, but they extend the filing time.”

The Christie administration did not go for the ‘across the board’ filing extension proposal, Mr Bowe conceded, adding: “We haven’t got confirmation of them extending it in that way.

“They said they would do it on a case-by-case basis, and persons unable to file would not be penalised. It was a discussion we had with the Minister of State for Finance and the Financial Secretary.

“I don’t think there was an objection to granting an extension. We wanted a blanket extension as we didn’t want it to be subjective. They said it would be granted if businesses could show they were impacted.”

Mr Bowe promised that the Chamber, on the private sector’s behalf, would ensure the Government lived up to its agreement to a more lenient VAT filing approach in Matthew’s wake.

“We will hold them to account on that,” he told Tribune Business. “As we support their tax enforcement initiative, we hope they support our efforts to make sure the ease of business continues to improve. There’s a reciprocal nature to the support of one another.”