Amendment of Stamp Duties Act

(1) Section 62 of the Stamp Duties Act is hereby repealed. (2) Notwithstanding such repeal, any duty due or liability incurred under that section may be collected or enforced as if the said section had not been repealed. 82 SCHEDULE I GENERAL SALES TAX ACT Zero-Rated: Exported Goods (sections 2 and 9) 1. The following taxable supplies of goods are zero-rated supplies for the purposes of this Act. (1) Supply of goods, if the supplier has entered the goods for export under the Customs and Excise Duties Act and the goods have been exported. (2) A supply of goods, if the Commissioner is satisfied that the goods have been exported from Belize by the supplier. (3) A supply of goods, if– (a) the goods are supplied in Belize to a non- resident recipient who is not a taxable person, or to the agent of that recipient; (b) the supplier has sufficient documentary evidence to establish that the recipient or agent entered the goods for export under the Customs and Excise Duties Act; and (c) the goods were exported without being altered or used in any way between the time they were delivered or made available to the recipient and the time they were exported, except to the extent, if any, necessary to prepare them for export. General Sales Tax 83 (4) A supply of goods to a commercial free zone under the Free Zones Act or to an export processing zone under the Export Processing Zone Act. (5) A supply of aircraft’s stores or ship’s stores, or of spare parts for an aircraft or ship, if the stores or parts are for use, consumption, or sale on the aircraft or ship during a international flight or voyage. (6) A supply of goods in the course of repairing, maintaining, cleaning, renovating, modifying, treating, or otherwise physically affecting other goods referred to paragraph 1(3), (4) or (5) of Schedule II, if the goods supplied are– (a) attached to or become part of those other goods; or (b) become unusable or worthless as a direct result of being used to repair, renovate, modify or treat the other goods. (7) A supply of goods if the goods are located outside Belize at the time of supply and will not be imported into Belize by the supplier. (8) A supply of real property located outside Belize. 2. A supply of goods is not zero-rated under paragraph 1 if the goods have been or will be reimported into Belize by the supplier. 84 General Sales Tax SCHEDULE II1 GENERAL SALES TAX ACT Zero-Rated: Exported Services [sections 2 and 91] 1. The following taxable supplies are zero-rated supplies for the purposes of this Act Services Connected with Exported Goods (1) A supply of services directly in connection with land, or improvements to land, situated outside Belize. (2) A supply of services directly in connection with goods situated outside Belize at the time the services are performed. (3) A supply of services directly in connection with goods temporarily imported into Belize under the special regime for temporary imports specified in the Customs and Excise Duties Act, but only to the extent that the services are consumed outside Belize. (4) A supply of services directly in connection with a container temporarily imported under the special regime for temporary imports specified in the Customs & Excise Duties Act. (5) A supply of the services of repairing, maintaining, cleaning, renovating, modifying, or treating an aircraft or ship engaged in international transport. (6) A supply of services that1 This Schedule was amended by Statutory Instrument No. 20 of 2018 and Statutory Instrument No. 84 of 2018. General Sales Tax 85 (a) consist of the handling, pilotage, salvage, or towage of a ship or aircraft engaged in international transport; or (b) are provided directly in connection with the operation or management of a ship or aircraft engaged in international transport. S.I. 84 of 2018. (6A) For the purposes of item (6), the words “operation or management of a ship” shall not include tours contractually supplied by tour operators to cruise line operators. Schedule I. (7) A supply of services directly in connection with a supply referred to in paragraph 1 (1), (2), (5), or (6) in Schedule I, or sub-paragraphs (5) or (6) of this paragraph, including a supply that consists of arranging for, or is ancillary or incidental to, such supply. Schedule I. (8) A supply of services to a non-resident who is not a taxable person, if the supply is directly in connection with a supply referred to in paragraph 1(3) of Schedule I, or sub- paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of this paragraph, including a supply that consists of arranging for, or is ancillary or incidental to, such supply. Services Consumed Outside Belize (9) A supply of services that are physically performed outside Belize, if the services are of a kind that are effectively used or enjoyed at the time and place where they are performed. (10) A supply of services to a non-resident person who is outside Belize at the time the services are supplied, other than a supply of services– (a) directly in connection with land, or improvements to land, situated in Belize; 86 General Sales Tax (b) directly in connection with goods situated in Belize at the time the services are performed; (c) that consist of refraining from or tolerating an activity, a situation, or the doing of an act in Belize, if the restraint or toleration is effectively used or enjoyed in Belize. (11) A supply of services that consist of– (a) the filing, prosecution, granting, maintenance, transfer, assignment, licensing, or enforcement of intellectual property rights for use outside Belize; (b) incidental services necessary for the supply of services referred to in sub-sub-paragraph (a) above; or (c) the acceptance by a person of an obligation to refrain from pursuing or exercising, in whole or part, intellectual property rights for use outside Belize. (12) A supply of telecommunications services by a resident telecommunications supplier to a non-resident telecommunications supplier, to the extent that the supply is for the use or consumption of a person outside Belize at the time the services are performed. (13) A supply of services is not zero-rated under sub- paragraphs (10) or (12), if the supply is a supply of a right or option to receive a supply of goods or services in Belize, unless the supply to be received would be zero-rated if it were made in Belize. (14) Without limiting sub-paragraph 13, a supply of services is not zero-rated under sub-paragraphs (10) or (12), if the services are supplied under an agreement that is entered into, General Sales Tax 87 whether directly or indirectly, with a person who is a non- resident, if, (a) the performance of the services is, or it is reasonably foreseeable at the time the agreement is entered into that the performance of the services will be, received in Belize by another person, and (b) it is reasonably foreseeable, at the time the agreement is entered into, that the other person will not be a taxable person when it receives the performance of the services, and for the avoidance of doubt, if the supply is a supply of a right or option to receive services, the performance of the services referred to in this paragraph is the performance of the services to be received, rather than the granting of the right or option. 88 General Sales Tax SCHEDULE III2 GENERAL SALES TAX ACT Zero-Rated: Other Supplies and Imports [sections 2 and 9] 1. In this Schedule“processed”, in relation to food, means that the food has been subjected to either cooking, boiling, baking, seasoning, mixing or complemented with other foods, preservatives, extracting, extruding, fermentation, canning or a combination of one or more of the above mentioned processes or other treatments that transform the food from its natural state to a new product. “unprocessed”, in relation to food, means that the food contains no additives, other than vitamins or minerals, and has not been subjected to a process or treatment other than pasteurizing, freezing, chilling or packaging, a mechanical process, or a process that solely employs the elements of weather; 2. Subject to the regulations, a taxable supply or taxable import is zero-rated for the purposes of this Act if it is a supply or import of one of the following itemsFOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION (1) Food for human consumption if the food is of a kind itemized in the following table: 2This Schedule was substituted by Statutory Instrument 38 of 2010 and amended by Statutory Instrument No. 74 of 2012, Statutory Instrument No. 49 of 2014, Statutory Instrument No. 66 of 2017 and Statutory Instrument No. 20 of 2018. General Sales Tax 89 ITEM Description Unprocessed Foods: (1) Rice (2) Flour (3) Corn (4) Fresh Meat from any mammal, bird, or fish (Locally produced) (5) Edible Offal of bovine animals, swine and sheep (6) Eggs (7) Beans (8) Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (locally produced) (9) Salt (10) Fresh Milk (Locally produced) (11) Tea S.I. 66 of 2017. S.I. 86 of 2006. S.I. 77 of 2008. Processed Foods: (1) Bread, Corn and Flour tortilla and locally produced sweet bread and bun (2) Cooking Lard (3) Margarine (4) Baby Formula (5) Sugar (6) Condensed Milk (7) Powdered Milk (8) Cooking Oil (9) Instant Coffee (10) Chicken Sausages (canned) (11) Corned Beef (in cans) (12) Yeast (13) Oats (14) Luncheon Meat (15) Potted Meat (16) Chocolate Powdered Drinks (17) Macaroni and Cheese S.I. 86 of 06. S.I. 77 of 08. 90 General Sales Tax (18) Cereals (19) Percolated coffee (20) Edible meats of swine animals salted or in brine (21) Edible meats of bovine animals salted or in brine (22) Soups and broth in solid or powdered form (including Ramen) (23) Preparations of malt extract 2. Any live bird, fish, crustacean, mollusc or other animal of a kind generally used as, or producing, food for human consumption. II. SUPPLIES CONNECTED WITH AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK BIRDS AND FISH, CRUSTACEAN, MOLLUSC AND OTHER 1. Hatching eggs. S.I. 60 of 2006. 2. Animal feeding stuff suitable for any live bird, fish, crustacean, mollusc, or other animal of a kind generally used as, or producing, food for human consumption or of any draught animal. 3. Concentrated feed for bovine animals and swine. S.I. 60 of 2006. 4. Seeds and other means of propagation of plants and plants that are used for providing either food listed in item 1 of this Schedule or a feeding stuff referred to in item III 1 above. 5. Preparations formulated for agricultural use, namely fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides. 6. Land preparation for agriculture, harvesting and crop dusting services. 7. Barbed wire. 8. Irrigation pipes and hoses. General Sales Tax 91 9. Spare parts for tractors. 10. Cables for Banana Industry. 11. Sugar Cane Loading Machines. III. UTILITIES 1. A supply of water (other than water supplied in bottles or similar containers) or domestic sewerage services. IV. MEDICINES AND MEDICAL SUPPLIES FOR HUMAN USE 1. Analgesics in the form of liquids, tablets, capsules, or other solid dosage forms for oral or rectal use. S.I. 77 of 2008. 2. Cough and cold preparations in the form of liquid, tablets, capsules or other solid dosage forms for oral or nasal use. 3. Diagnostic-testing kits and devices for testing glucose in blood and urine. 4. Insulin and insulin syringes with needles and devices of a type not exceeding 100 units (1.0 ML) capacity, for the administration of U-100 insulin. 5. Oral rehydration preparations in the form of salts and solutions of W.H.O./Paramacopoeia standards. 6. Dialysis fluids. 7. Oxygen. 8. Anti-Retroviral Medicines. 92 General Sales Tax V. ITEMS FOR HOUSEHOLD USE 1. Laundry Washing Soap Powder. VI. HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES 1. Stoves and Ranges/Cookers. 2. Refrigerators for Domestic Use. 3. Washing Machines for Domestic Use. VII ITEMS AND SUPPLIES FOR USE IN EDUCATION 1. Notebooks. 2. Pencils, crayons, lead pencils, erasers, pencil holders for use in schools. 3. School bags. VIII OTHER 1. Frames for Eye Glasses General Sales Tax 93 SCHEDULE IV3 GENERAL SALES TAX ACT Exempt Supplies [sections 2 and 15] (1) In this Schedule“residential premises” means a building occupied or capable of being occupied as a residence, but not including hotel or holiday accommodation. (2) The following supplies are exempt for the purposes of this ActFINANCIAL SERVICES AND OTHER INTERMEDIATION SERVICES 1. A supply of the following “financial services”, except where provided in return for an explicit fee of charge– (a) granting, negotiating, and dealing with loans, credit, credit guarantees, and security for money, including management of loans, credit, or credit guarantees by the grantor; (b) transactions concerning money, deposit and current accounts, payments, transfers, debts, cheques, or negotiable instruments, other than debt collection and factoring; 3This Schedule was substituted by Statutory Instrument 38 of 2010 and amended by Act No. 31 of 2017, Statutory Instrument No. 49 of 2014, Statutory Instrument No. 20 of 2018 and Statutory Instrument No. 84 of 2018. 94 General Sales Tax (c) transactions relating to financial derivatives, forward contracts, options to acquire financial instruments, and similar arrangements; (d) transactions relating to shares, stocks, bonds, and other securities, other than custody services; (e) management of investment funds; (f) provision, or transfer of ownership, of an insurance contract or the provision of reinsurance in respect of such contract; (g) provision, or transfer of ownership, of an interest in a scheme whereby provision is made for the payment of granting of benefits by a benefit fund, provident fund, pension fund, retirement annuity fund or preservation fund; (h) a supply of credit under a finance lease, if the credit for the goods is provided for a separate charge and the charge is disclosed to the recipient of the goods; or (i) the arranging of any of the services in paragraphs (a) to (h). S.I. 92 of 2007. 2. A gambling supply. RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY S.I. 20 of 2018. 3. A sale of real property to the extent that the property relates to residential premises. 4. A supply of residential accommodation. EDUCATION General Sales Tax 95 5. A supply of goods or services by an Educational Institution within the meaning of the Education Act in the course of providing training or education to an individual, if that Institution, (i) in the case of a private school, is registered under that Act; and (ii) in any other case, is approved for the purposes of this item by the Minister to whom responsibility for education is assigned. 6. A sale, lease, licence or other supply of the use of land, or a supply of goods and services in connection with the construction of buildings or other facilities on land, if, (i) the supply is provided to an Education Institution within the meaning of the Education Act; and (ii) the Minister responsible for Education has issued a notice in writing stating that he is satisfied that the land, buildings, or facilities will be used in providing supplies that are exempt under item 5 and the supplier holds an original or certified copy of that notice. 7. Textbooks, school work books, or other educational texts in question-and-answer format with spaces for insertion of answers, children’s picture or painting books, other books instalments thereof, or other books. Music printed or in manuscript whether or not bound or illustrated, maps and charts in book form. 8. Equipment or furniture for the use of an Educational Institution within the meaning of the Education Act, provided that the supplier holds a Statutory Declaration from the 96 General Sales Tax Institution stating that the goods will be used only in the course of providing goods or services that are exempt under items 5, 6 and 7. MEDICAL SUPPLIES 9. Medical, dental, hospital, optical and paramedical services, other than veterinary services and cosmetic surgery. ACCOMMODATION SERVICES 10. The supply of accommodation in a hotel, inn, guesthouse, boarding house, lodging house or any other similar establishment. UTILITIES AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT 11. A supply of electricity to consumers in any particular month whose value of such supply does not exceed $100. 12. A supply of Public Postal services. 13. A supply of the domestic public transport of passengers on any regular scheduled flight, vehicle, or vessel if, (a) the transport is for use by any person who pays the required fare and is not provided to a particular class of person, such as, without limitation, and employee of the supplier or a guest at a hotel or similar establishment; S.I. 84 of 2018. (b) the supply is not provided by a tour operator or as part of a tour or tours contractually supplied by tour operators to cruise line operators; and (c) the supplier, General Sales Tax 97 (i) in relation to transport supplied on a domestic flight, is licensed by the Air Transport Licensing Authority; CAP. 230. (ii) in relation to transport supplied in a vehicle, has been issued with a Road Service Permit by the Transport Board established under section 4 of the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act; or CAP. 234. (iii) in relation to transport supplied in a vessel, is licensed under the Harbour and Merchant Shipping Act. S.I. 92 of 2007. 14. A lease of aircrafts and maintenance facilities for the upkeep of aircrafts, together with aircraft parts and equipment used for such upkeep, and the provision of operating facilities and terminals in connection with the supply of public air transport 15. Air Cargo Operations. S.I. 20 of 2018. 15A. Butane Gas for domestic use. EXPORTED SERVICES 16. A supply of the international transport of passengers or goods not including tours contractually supplied by tour operators to cruise line operators. S.I. 123 of 2007. S.I. 84 of 2018. S.I. 20 of 2018. 16A. A supply of Business Processing Outsourcing (“BPO”) or Call Centre Services. CERTAIN SUPPLIES PROVIDED TO DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS, etc. S. I. 10 of 2010. 17. The following supplies provided to diplomatic missions accredited to Belize, or international and regional organizations98 General Sales Tax (a) a supply of security guard services; (b) a supply of rented office or business accommodation; (c) a supply of housing repair and maintenance services. GOODS AND SERVICES SUPPLIED TO THE GOVERNMENT OF BELIZE 18. The following goods and services supplied to or procured by the Government of Belize shall be exempt for the purposes of this Act– (a) all importations by the Government of Belize; and S.I. 20 of 2018. (b) all goods and services supplied to the Government of Belize locally under a written contract between the Government of Belize and any foreign donor agency. General Sales Tax 99 SCHEDULE V4 GENERAL SALES TAX ACT Exempted Imports (Section 2) The following imports of goods are exempt; Schedule IV. 1. An import of goods if the supply of those goods by the importer will be exempt under items 5 to 15 in paragraph (2) of Schedule IV. CAP. 48. 2. An import of goods is exempt if it is exempt from customs duty under Item 3(A), 3(B), 3(C), 3(D), 3(E), or 3(F) in the List of Conditional Exemptions in Schedule I to the Customs and Excise Tax Act. 4This Schedule was amended by Statutory Instrument 86 of 2006.