The Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Finance issued a media release responding to concerns about delays in repaying value added tax (VAT) refunds to companies, stating the issue is driven by cash flow constraints rather than bureaucracy. It said it intends to complete VAT refunds to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by the end of January 2025. The Ministry linked the one-month delay to lower-than-expected government revenue in the last three months of 2024, citing oil and gas production below estimates and depressed oil and gas prices in the latter half of 2024, which led to expenditure prioritisation and the deferral of VAT refunds. It added that oil and gas prices recovered in November and December 2024 and revenue collections from the Tax Amnesty have been increasing, leaving sufficient cash flow to follow through on the SME VAT refunds commitment.
Ministry of Finance (Trinidad & Tobago) 2025-01-16
Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Finance attributes VAT refund delays to cash flow constraints and plans to pay SME refunds by end-January 2025
The Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Finance attributed delays in VAT refunds to SMEs to cash flow constraints caused by lower-than-expected government revenue in late 2024, due to underperformance in oil and gas production and prices. The Ministry plans to complete these refunds by the end of January 2025, citing improved oil and gas prices and increased revenue from a Tax Amnesty as factors supporting this commitment.