The Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association has renewed its call on the Government for the payment of Value Added Tax refunds to manufacturers.
Up to December 2022, a reported TTD 29.1M was received in VAT refunds with over TTD 140 million dollars still outstanding to TTMA members.
TTMA says timely VAT refunds will allow manufacturers to further invest in expansion of operations, upgrading of equipment or even market exploration, which can redound to the benefit of the foreign exchange earning capacity of T&T.”
President of the TTMA, Tricia Coosal, explained the impact of delayed VAT refunds on businesses, particularly Small and Medium Enterprises.
She stated that 2022 was a good year for exporters locally despite the challenges faced with regard to delayed payment of VAT returns.
However, non-payment of VAT created a significant cash flow issues for all manufacturers but particularly for the SME sector in T&T.
TTMA said it is fundamentally important for the outstanding VAT refunds owed to the manufacturing sector to be prioritized as their cash flow is being significantly affected and in order for the continued growth of the non-energy sector, having cash to facilitate transactions is imperative.
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