Times Of Swaziland: TAX RETURNS, LIQUOR TRADING LICENCES DEADLINES LOOM

TAX RETURNS, LIQUOR TRADING LICENCES DEADLINES LOOM
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Ashmond Nzima on 23/03/2021 16:24:00


MBABANE- The end of March next Wednesday will signal the expiry of the grace
period afforded to most businesses.
In January this year, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade had extended
the validity of liquor trading licences to March 31, 2021. Ministry of Commerce,
Industry and Trade Principal Secretary Siboniso Nkambule, had made the
announcement, saying the decision for the extension was to reduce long queues
that could be COVID-19 ‘superspreaders.” He had advised the business
community that they should anticipate delays in the processing licence renewals
and new applications due to the limited number of officials. The deadline comes
at time when liquor traders are breathing a sigh of relief following a ban on
alcohol sales for over a month.  Last week the restrictions were relaxed to
allow the sale of alcohol between Monday and Thursday from 9am to 5pm. Dumsile
Maseko, who is Communications Officer in the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and
Trade, confirmed that the next Wednesday deadline remained unchanged when sought
for comment yesterday.
Also with a March 31 deadline is the filing of tax returns by certain taxpayers.
The Minister of Finance in March last year had announced measures to be taken
following the national emergency declaration. The measures related to filing of
annual income tax returns. As a result, filing deadlines of income tax returns
was extended by three months before penalties kicked in.
Large and value added tax (VAT)-registered are in the spotlight, as their
deadline for filing under the grace period expires on the last day of this
month. Non- VAT registered taxpayers and individuals had their deadlines in
January and last month, respectively.