Business News, Friday 18 March 2022

Dear members,

We have been diligently following up on the matters below, while our VCCI President and VBRC Chairman continue to negotiate and seek resolutions with the Government on ways support can be offered to you during these unprecedented times. If and when these discussions lead to important updates to share with you, we will do so immediately. We do not want to fill your inboxes with false promises. Instead, we will continue to focus on what we can do for you.

As we navigate through these unprecedented times, we want to remind you of the rules in place, set by the Government. Unless you are an essential business you cannot be open and operating as per normal in Level 3. We are in Level 3 now, and will be for some time. If you are having trouble making decisions, we ask that you contact VCCI to be guided through your options. We understand the pressures you are under in some cases, and we are doing all we can to work with the Government on ways this pressure can be relieved.

We ask that you adhere to these rules as they have been put in place to assist in the management of unnecessary contact between people. If you have any questions can you please call us to confirm – 27543 or 7123967. We can all agree that it is not fair for some people to follow the rules, and for others to ignore them. We are working with both Port Vila and Luganville police to make sure that everyone has a clear understanding of who can operate and how as they begin to more tightly police our urban areas.

COUNCIL BY-LAWS AND LEVYS
The Attorney General has informed our lawyer that they have provided their legal advice to the Ministry Internal Affairs who they expected to have informed DUAP and LMC who would then inform the VCCI on the matter of Levying of a Business Permit Fee Bye-Law No. 20 of 2021, Harbour Thru-Port Entry Bye-Law No. 18 of 2021, Aircraft Nuisance Bye-Law No. 19 of 2021.

We continue to follow up on this important issue on a daily basis.

CUSTOMS OFFICE CLOSED 
We have received the following from Customs, who have asked us to pass this onto our membership:

Given the current COVID-19 lock down, we wish to inform that the Inland Revenue Taxpayer Services Section is closed until further notice. However for VAT return lodgement, please email them to this address VATPayments@vanuatu.gov.vu and for payments, we advise that you deposit them directly to any of the below accounts. 

Bank Name	Account Name	Account Number
NBV	Government of Vanuatu Inland Revenue Account	0001008004
BRED	Government of Vanuatu VAT – Online Payment (DCIR) Account	00229663010096
ANZ	Vanuatu Government Operating Account	1582850

For the narratives, please use the below formats:

1. Monthly Return payment = VAT- TIN Month Year

E.g. VAT-153128-M92021 (month in this example is September, so it is initialled as M9)

1. Quarterly Returns Payment = VAT-TIN-Quarter-Year

E.g. VAT- 153128- Q3 – 2021

Other license fees and charges may be considered once the situation eases, we will further advise on the progresses.

A designated team is on standby always to assist you should you faced any difficulties in accessing this online service. Thank you for your understanding.

WAGE SUBSIDY SCHEME
Our advocacy efforts continue with MFEM, in regards to the release of much needed wage subsidy payments to those of you who qualify. We have been assured that a backlog of payments were made last week. If you have been paid in the last week we would like to know about it. Please drop an email to support@vcci.vu so we can assess the situation and continue on with our efforts.

HOW TO MAKE PAYMENT OF VNPF FEBRUARY CONTRIBUTIONS
We are still seeking answers from the VNPF office in Port Vila, but for our Santo members, please follow the below instructions from Benoit Bulewak: Benoit.Bulewak@vnpf.com.vu

Please deposit the payment in to the bank account below. Forward to VNPF via email the bank receipt for the payment so that they can follow up on the status at the bank concerned.

Please include your employer account number, so it make easier for them to locate rapidly.

VNPF Bank Account details:
ANZ 754479
NBV 0000527001

TRAINING OUR MARKET MANAGERS, AREA WARDENS AND OF COURSE OUR MEMBERS ON IMPORTANT SAFE BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES
We continue to support all of our important stakeholders and business members with training on how we can operate safely during these COVID times. We are currently focusing on assisting our micro-small businesses in the development of specific standard operations and training of area wardens to support our 20 vatu mamas, small kava bar operators, and tradesmen at the grass roots level.

For more information on these activities, or to book a place at our free SBO trainings please call Adrian on 7780870..

SEEKING FEEDBACK AND SUGGESTIONS
If there is anything we can be doing, or providing to you at this time please let us know. We are here to help. Please call Marineth on 27543 / 7123967, or email her at administration@vcci.vu to give your important inputs into our service delivery. For anyone suffering from great stress or anxiety, access to counselling is available to those in need. Call Jinny to organise an appointment 711 8414.

We are here to help you,
The VCCI team