The government’s intention is to provide direct relief to consumers. All registered suppliers, retailers, and traders are legally required to adjust their pricing to reflect the GST zero-rating on the listed items.
During the zero-rated period, you must not apply GST to these goods.
Failure to pass on the tax reduction to consumers—either by continuing to charge GST or by maintaining pre-zero-rating prices—will be considered a violation of tax laws. Offenders will be subject to penalties under the Goods and Services Tax Act 2003 and other applicable legislation.
Important Clarifications:
- To avoid confusion, goods imported or supplied and held in inventory before 1 January 2025 are not eligible for the zero-rating.
- Subject to condition (3), input tax credits may be claimed under the Goods and Services Tax Act 2003 (as amended) for direct costs incurred by importers or manufacturers during the exemption period on the listed goods.
- Input tax credits must not be claimed by importers or manufacturers for related costs during the exemption period under the following circumstances: a. The goods are sold to final consumers without adjusting prices to reflect the zero-rating under this notice and the Act; or b. The goods are stockpiled and sold at inflated prices after the exemption period.
- Taxpayers must provide satisfactory evidence to the Commissioner General of the IRC that the circumstances described in (3)(a) and (3)(b) have not occurred. Acceptable evidence may include:
- Financial penalties
- Recovery of wrongly collected amounts
- Suspension or cancellation of GST registration
- Prosecution for tax offenses
Joint Enforcement
Compliance enforcement will be led by the Internal Revenue Commission (IRC) in close collaboration with the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) and the PNG Customs Service. These agencies will monitor pricing behavior, investigate complaints, and undertake appropriate enforcement actions.
We call on all members of the business community to act in good faith and support this important policy initiative to ensure that consumers receive the full benefit of this GST exemption.
Let us work together to deliver real savings to Papua New Guinean households.
For more information or to report suspected non-compliance, please contact:
- Joseph Evari – evarij@irc.gov.pg
- Akosita Moi – moiga@irc.gov.pg
- James Napi – napij@irc.gov.pg
- Desmond Yako – yakod@irc.gov.pg
