MEMBERS of Parliament debated the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service 2016-2017 Annual Report this morning which lasted for an hour in Parliament.
This is after the chairman for economic affairs Vijay Nath tabled the report before Parliament to be debated by both sides of the House as mandated under the Standing Orders.
Leader of Opposition Sitiveni Rabuka said according to his observations it was quite clear the FRCS was quite optimistic to meet the targets required of them from government.
He claimed they have been forced by government to make revenue collection because of the current economic crisis Fiji was facing.
The collection of revenue, Mr Rabuka said should have been a national responsibility and the pressure on FRCS has resulted in some of its members dying from stress.
In response Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, who is also the Economy Minister, said they found people breaching the tax laws and it was role of FRCS to see that people abide by the tax laws.
He said there was laxity in the customs area because people are fond of smuggling in illegal items through this area.
National Federation Party leader Professor Biman Prasad said the FRCS had been given the roles of judge, jury and executioners because of government’s pressure for them to collect revenue.
According to the report, FRCS collected a total of revenue of $2.58b against the original forecast of $2.67b, an improvement of 6.6 per cent over 2015-2016 period, while 90.6 per cent of revenue was accounted for Government.
