Project Budget: 1,100,000 Euro 

Background: 

Historically, Antigua and Barbuda has been one of the Caribbean’s most prosperous nations, with a vibrant tourism industry and offshore financial services. However, the country’s tourism-dependent economy has been severely impacted by the global economic, financial, and covid-19 crises. These have aggravated an already unsustainable fiscal position, and as a result of the crisis the Government has been working towards the strengthening of macro-economic and public sector management.

In the context of challenging macroeconomic conditions, the authorities have acknowledged the need for additional fiscal consolidation, supported by further strengthening of its Public Financial Management (PFM) and revenue administration systems. The reform of these systems is a long-term process.

As part of this process, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda’s revenue authority, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) is planning to upgrade its Standard Integrated Government Tax Administration System (hereinafter “SIGTAS”), from SIGTAS Version 1.0 to Version 3.0 to facilitate greater transparency and modernization of the taxation process, enable e-registration, e-filing, e-payments and reporting and to optimize decision making and increase the efficiency in tax collection, enforcement, and recovery.

Overall objective

The overall objective of the project is to support the modernisation of the tax system of Antigua and Barbuda by upgrading the tax administration software of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD).

Purpose

The purpose of this contract is as follows:

• To upgrade SIGTAS V1.0 to Standard SIGTAS V3.0 software
• To improve the availability of tax information and increase the efficiency of operations of the Inland Revenue Department.

Results to be achieved by the contractor

It is anticipated that the SIGTAS V3.0 upgrade will:

• Support all tax administration processes into one integrated system
• Support all types of taxes and licenses including VAT, Excise, and Property Tax, using a centralized tax roll across all tax types and modules
• Support all tax administration processes into one integrated system;
• Support all types of taxes and licenses including VAT, Excise, and Property Tax, using a centralized tax roll across all tax types and modules
• Provide taxpayers with electronic services over the Internet, allowing them to interact with the tax authority and conduct electronic transactions (such as electronic filing and payment) through a secure, user-friendly, and efficient channel
• Provide management tools, for making better decisions, to track amounts assessed, collected, and outstanding including aging of arrears
• Increase operational efficiency, reducing errors and duplications through computerization of tax administration
• Enhance taxpayer service, with more accuracy promptly, it includes a suite of account query and analysis features
• Improve control over taxpayer compliance by providing late filing/late payment reminders and case management features
• Reduce the learning curve for government officials by providing a standard, user-friendly graphical interface
• Protect all information through tight, role-based security rules
• Ensure data integrity, with data validation and a solid database design
• Restrict sensitive or selected transactions, such as refunds, based on approval tracking
• Accommodate changes in tax forms, tax rates, penalties, and interest rates without programming
• Optimize decision-making by providing operational and strategic management reports
• Integrate seamlessly with other mission-critical government systems, and statistical sampling tools
• Support management and all transactions with any currencies, and be configurable for the specific requirements of Antigua and Barbuda.