Project Case Study
Supporting the automation of Papua New Guinea’s tax administration
Computerising the tax system and building capacity in Papua New Guinea's Internal Revenue Commission
Until recently, Papua New Guinea’s Internal Revenue Commission’s was completely reliant on outdated manual systems, facing enormous quantities of paper files that were impossible to manage effectively.
We have been providing technical assistance to the Commission since July 2012 in connection with the implementation of a new tax administration system, SIGTAS, that is automating the tax administration and freeing it from its antiquated manual system.
SIGTAS is automating all taxes and licences and covers all aspects of the tax management process, including taxpayer registration, assessments, audit and cashing. The system will enable it to operate more efficiently and transparently. Under the new system, increased visibility of taxpayer data will help to increase tax collections and focus taxpayer audit efforts. Standard processes and forms will generate significant improvements in efficiency and accuracy. SIGTAS will also enable the electronic transfer of payments, massively reducing taxpayer compliance costs.
Implementing the new systems is a complex and long-term process that has involved re-engineering the Commission’s business processes, programming software specifically to meet its specific requirements, and training employees who will use the system.
The largest tax type in Papua New Guinea, Salaries and Wages, is already being administered under SIGTAS, and Goods and Services, another very important tax, will go live under SIGTAS in 2014.
It is now forecast that SIGTAS will help the Papua New Guinean Government meet its ambitious future revenue targets.
“We see the changes made to the Statement of Earnings filing process undertaken by the IRC to be the best tax reform undertaken in Papua New Guinea in the 21 years I've worked here."
Colin Milligan, Managing Partner, KPMG
