Value Added Tax registration is separate from registering a business and obtaining a GRA TIN. A person must be registered for VAT before charging VAT and must display the VAT certificate at each location where taxable activities are carried on.
The compulsory-registration threshold
The current VAT registration threshold is GYD 15,000,000 in taxable supplies.
A person carrying on a taxable activity must apply within 15 official working days after reaching the threshold in a period of 12 months or less.
A person must also apply within 15 official working days from the beginning of a 12-month period where taxable supplies are reasonably expected to reach the threshold during that period.
Monitor taxable supplies continuously. Waiting until the end of a financial year can cause the registration deadline to be missed.
Voluntary VAT registration
A person below the compulsory threshold may apply voluntarily. The applicant must be able to show:
- an identifiable business and business location;
- adequate recordkeeping capability; and
- an intention to make taxable supplies.
For a new business or one operating for less than a year, the Commissioner may consider evidence such as loans and projections, contracts, feasibility studies, capital-equipment purchases or similar material showing the intention to make taxable supplies.
Voluntary registration is not the same as automatic acceptance. It also brings ongoing return, payment, display and recordkeeping obligations.
Prepare the registration
First obtain the correct GRA TIN. Then confirm with GRA which taxpayer-registration form and supporting documents apply to the applicant’s legal form.
The approved source set does not establish a complete current VAT-registration checklist, fee, processing time or end-to-end online registration channel. Do not rely on an old checklist without revalidation.
What GRA issues
When registration is approved, the Commissioner issues a certificate stating the registrant’s details, effective date and VAT registration number.
Display the certificate conspicuously at each location where the taxable activity is carried on. Do not assume that the organisation TIN and the VAT registration number are always identical.
Core obligations after registration
The standard VAT rate is 14 percent, but zero-rated and exempt supplies are legally distinct. This guide does not provide a complete classification of supplies; confirm the treatment of the business’s actual goods and services.
Unless GRA authorises a different period, the VAT tax period is a calendar month. A registered taxable person must file a return for every period, even where no tax is payable.
The controlling deadline is on or before the 21st of the following month. GRA supports filing through eServices without a duplicate paper return, as well as filing at specified physical offices. Tax payable for the period is due by the return due date.
VAT records required by section 60 must be retained for seven years after the end of the related tax period.
If taxable activity stops
A person ceasing all taxable activities must notify the Commissioner in writing within 15 official working days and state the cessation date and the relevant 12-month intention.
A voluntary registrant below the threshold may apply for cancellation only after the statutory minimum period and subject to the conditions in section 13. Stopping VAT charges without completing the cancellation process is not the same as being deregistered.
Before applying
- Confirm the legal form and business-registration record or company incorporation.
- Confirm the correct GRA TIN.
- Calculate taxable supplies for the relevant 12-month test.
- Determine whether registration is compulsory or voluntary.
- Gather records supporting turnover or intended taxable supplies.
- Confirm the current form, documents and filing channel with GRA.
- Prepare monthly bookkeeping before the registration becomes effective.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Treating business registration or a TIN as VAT registration.
- Charging VAT before registration is effective.
- Monitoring total receipts without identifying taxable supplies.
- Missing the 15-official-working-day application deadline.
- Using the conflicting older 15-working-day return wording; the monthly return is due by the 21st.
- Failing to file a return because no VAT is payable.
- Treating zero-rated and exempt supplies as interchangeable.
Official sources
- GRA – VAT Registration
- GRA – File a VAT Return
- GRA – eServices
- VAT Act, Regulations and Transitional Regulations
Editorial note
This guide provides general information, not tax or legal advice. Thresholds, forms and channels can change. Confirm current requirements and the classification of actual supplies with GRA or a qualified adviser.
