By Cyber Era NG Staff
Effective January 1, 2023, telecommunications sector regulator in Palau, the Palau National Communications Corporation(PNCC) will commence charging the Palau Goods & Services Tax (PGST) , Cyber Era NG can exclusively report. A terse heads-up from the PNCC says: “Starting January 1, 2023, PNCC must collect PGST from our customers on behalf of the national government.”
According to the Republic of Palau Bureau of Revenue and Taxation, the Palau Goods & Services Tax is a 10 per cent tax on the supply of most goods and services consumed in the Republic of Palau, including telecommunications services.
How will this impact PNCC prices?
PNCC has consulted with the President’s Office and the Bureau of Revenue and Taxation on how PGST should be implemented for PNCC services specifically. The effective increase in the price consumers pay will be only 6 per cent, but PNCC will remit the full 10 per cent PGST to the Bureau of Revenue and Taxation.
This means that PNCC’s base prices for all services will be reduced to account for the removal of existing taxes, before the new 10 per cent PGST is added.
Subscription to PNCC postpaid services
If you are subscribing to PNCC postpaid services, you will have PGST added to your monthly
subscription fee and any overages. You will see the PGST inclusive amount clearly displayed on your monthly bill. While the effective increase will be 6 per cent, PNCC will remit the full 10 per cent to the Bureau of Revenue and Taxation. The new PGST tax will appear on your January bill that you receive in February 2023.
Buying a device or equipment from PNCC
If you are purchasing equipment/devices from PNCC (such as a smartphone), the price you will pay after Jan 1, 2023 will be PGST inclusive. The effective increase in the price you pay will be 6 per cent but PNCC will remit the full 10 per cent PGST to the Bureau of Revenue and Taxation.
PGST Application to prepaid Airtime & Debusch card purchases
If you are using PNCC prepaid Airtime cards or Debusch long distance cards, the rates of any prepaid services you use with these cards (calls, texts or mobile data) will increase by an average of 5 per cent across all services in the table below. PNCC will display all price from 1st Jan as PGST inclusive and will remit the full 10 per cent PGST to the Bureau of Revenue and Taxation.
The rates for prepaid Voice, Text, and Data services as of 1st Jan 2023 will be as follows:
*to most destinations worldwide
How will the PGST be applied to the rates for PalauCel prepaid plans and bundles?
The price of PalauCel prepaid plans and bundles will increase by an average of 6 per cent. PNCC will remit the full 10 per cent PGST to the Bureau of Revenue and Taxation.
The rate for Palaucel prepaid plans and bundles as of 1st Jan 2023 will be as follows:
Will 10 per cent PGST be added to the face value of PNCC prepaid Airtime or Debusch cards?
No, since the rates of the services provided by the prepaid Airtime and Debusch cards will have the PGST added (see table above), the face value of these prepaid cards will not change to include the PGST.
This method of collecting PGST for prepaid card users applies to all prepaid Airtime and Debusch card purchases at PNCC offices and in the PNCC online store; users will not pay any extra fee on the face value of Airtime and Debusch prepaid cards. This means you will still be able to buy these cards at the same convenient face values as before.
