VAT registration creates continuing obligations. A registered person must monitor taxable activity, apply the correct treatment, file every required return, pay tax due and preserve supporting records.
Registration should therefore be accompanied by a monthly accounting control rather than treated as a one-time certificate.
Display the VAT certificate
The VAT certificate should be displayed conspicuously at every location where the registered taxable activity is carried on.
Confirm that the registered name, effective date and VAT number match the business records and invoices. Do not assume that the TIN and VAT number are always identical.
Classify supplies correctly
The standard VAT rate is 14 percent, but standard-rated, zero-rated and exempt supplies are legally different.
Do not apply the standard rate to every receipt or treat zero-rated and exempt supplies as interchangeable. Obtain advice for unusual, mixed or sector-specific supplies.
File every required tax-period return
Unless GRA authorises another period, the VAT tax period is a calendar month. A registered taxable person must file a return for each period, including a period in which no tax is payable.
The controlled deadline is on or before the 21st of the following month.
GRA supports VAT-return filing through eServices without a duplicate paper return and also identifies physical filing routes. Confirm the live channel that applies to the taxpayer.
Pay tax by the return due date
Tax payable for the period is due by the return due date. Filing and payment are related but separate controls.
Do not assume that submitting the return completes payment or that a payment reference substitutes for the return. Retain both forms of evidence and reconcile them to the accounting records.
Maintain the supporting records
Keep records sufficient to support:
- taxable, zero-rated and exempt sales;
- output VAT charged;
- purchases and input VAT claimed;
- invoices, credit notes and adjustments;
- imports and customs evidence where applicable;
- filed returns and payment receipts; and
- monthly reconciliations to the accounts.
VAT records required under section 60 must be retained for seven years after the end of the related tax period.
Build a monthly close
- Close sales and purchase records for the month.
- Check the treatment of unusual transactions.
- Reconcile output and input VAT to invoices and accounts.
- Prepare and review the VAT return.
- File by the 21st of the following month.
- Pay any tax due by the same deadline.
- Save the return, acknowledgement and payment evidence.
- Correct errors through the current GRA process rather than silently changing closed records.
If taxable activity changes or stops
A person ceasing all taxable activities must notify the Commissioner in writing within the statutory period and provide the required cessation information.
Stopping VAT charges without completing the cancellation process is not the same as deregistration. A voluntary registrant below the threshold remains subject to the statutory cancellation conditions.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Failing to file because no VAT is payable.
- Filing the return without completing payment.
- Charging VAT before the registration effective date or after an assumed cancellation.
- Treating every supply as standard-rated.
- Losing invoices and adjustment evidence.
- Using an older return-deadline statement instead of the controlling 21st-of-the-following-month rule.
- Keeping VAT records for less than seven years.
Official sources
- GRA — VAT Registration
- GRA — File a VAT Return
- GRA eServices
- VAT Act, Regulations and Transitional Regulations
Related Invest Guyana guides and explainers
Editorial note
This guide provides general tax information, not advice on the VAT treatment of a specific supply. Rates, classifications, forms and channels can change. Confirm the current rules with GRA or a qualified adviser.
