The Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) has maintained that a valid Departure Prohibition Order (DPO) was in force when a taxpayer left Fiji on April 14, despite the individual being served with the order hours before departing the country.
In a statement, FRCS outlined a timeline of events, saying the original DPO was issued on March 26 under Section 31 of the Tax Administration Act 2009 against Company A and transmitted to the Department of Immigration for implementation through the Integrated Border Management System (IBMS).
FRCS said that following further compliance activities and legal review, it prepared and signed a revised set of DPO documents on April 13 to administratively transfer the prohibition order from Company A to Company B.
The authority said this involved revoking the original DPO and immediately issuing a new one to ensure the departure prohibition remained “legally valid, active and enforceable” under the correct legal entity.
According to FRCS, the revised DPO documentation was sent to the Department of Immigration at 9.57am on April 14.
It said Immigration confirmed in writing at 11am that the revised DPO had “been actioned”, with a further confirmation at 11.35am stating that the order relating to Company B had been successfully activated within the immigration system.
FRCS said the taxpayer was personally served with the revised Departure Prohibition Order at approximately 2pm on the same day and acknowledged receipt by signing the notice.
However, despite these actions, the taxpayer departed Fiji at 11.55pm that evening.
“FRCS wishes to reiterate that at all times, according to the documentation issued by FRCS to the Ministry of Immigration, an active DPO was always in place,” the authority said.
FRCS has requested the Department of Immigration to conduct a comprehensive review of the matter, including a full audit trail of actions undertaken within the Integrated Border Management System, to establish the sequence of events and determine how the taxpayer was able to leave Fiji despite the existence of a valid Departure Prohibition Order.
“FRCS remains committed to protecting the integrity of Fiji’s tax system and will continue working closely with the Department of Immigration and other law enforcement agencies to strengthen inter-agency enforcement processes,” the statement said.
The authority added that as the matter remains under active investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment further until the investigation is complete.
