Shastri Boodan
The Couva Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce (CPLCC) said yesterday it is pleased that the Government has decided to give VAT Bonds.
The CPLCC held a post-budget news conference on Monday following the reading of the 2025 fiscal package by Finance Minister Colm Imbert.
Chamber vice president Amit Dass said Small and Micro Enterprises should benefit from this move, adding, “We would like to see exactly how the Minister goes about it . The last time VAT bonds were issued, even though multiple chamber members applied, not all were paid. So we hope this time the allocation is sufficient and the SME market gets first preference before bonds are issued for the large energy companies.”
Dass said he was hopeful that the VAT bonds issued to the energy companies would be done in a non-refundable format where the energy companies would not be able to use it in a manner to affect the supply of foreign exchange to T&T.
Chamber head Deoraj Mahase described the budget as a neutral one. He said the removal of duties on sports equipment would help to grow the sport tourism industry in Couva that is home to several facilities.
“The improvement to the sporting facilities is welcomed. We have three major sporting facilities in Couva.”
He also said moves to deal with crime such as the national DNA dank were some of the issues raised by the Chamber before the budget.
Derek Joseph, representative of agriculture and non-financial cooperatives said the $1.18 billion allocated to agriculture was only scratching the surface of what the industry needs. He said the Government needs a more comprehensive plan concerning food security to tackle several issues within communities.
