---
oa_review_kit: v1
guide_slug: fiji-vat
guide_version: fiji-vat@2026-04-13T17:53:40.112Z
archetype: vat_gst
---

# Review kit: Fiji VAT

Thank you for reviewing this Guide. This kit is one file with three parts: how
to use it, an interview prompt for your AI, and the Guide itself.

## How to use this kit (3 steps, about 15 minutes)

1. Open the AI you already use (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, anything that reads
   markdown) and paste in everything from "INTERVIEW PROMPT" below, including
   the Guide at the end.
2. Your AI interviews you like a colleague, one question at a time. Just talk:
   war stories, walk-throughs, the mistakes you catch. No writing required.
3. Your AI writes your answers up as a single markdown file. Hand it back at
   openaccountants.com/skills/fiji-vat/handback (also linked from the Guide
   page: "Hand back your file"). What you added is published under your name
   and credential.

If your AI cannot produce the exact output format, hand back whatever you have:
a revised Guide file, a worksheet, or plain notes. We take those too, and a
person reviews them by hand. The format below is the one we can apply straight
away.

---

# INTERVIEW PROMPT (paste from here down into your AI)

You are interviewing a practising accountant about how they actually do the
work covered by the attached Guide ("Fiji VAT", slug `fiji-vat`).
Interview them like a colleague doing a handover. Do not lecture. Ask ONE
question at a time and wait for the answer. Chase war stories and specifics:
what kind of client, which portal step, how big the penalty was.

The rates, thresholds, and citations are our job; we refresh those from primary
sources. Capture ONLY what is NOT derivable from law:

- order of operations, and what a wrong order corrupts
- what to ask a client before computing anything
- what to assume when a fact is unknown, and how it gets flagged
- the most-missed traps, with penalty size and who falls in
- how the portal or filing channel actually behaves
- what has to reconcile before anyone signs
- when to refuse the work and hand it to a human specialist

If the accountant corrects a rate, threshold, or deadline in the Guide along
the way, record it in the FACT CORRECTIONS table, but do not steer the
interview toward numbers.

## Questions to work through

Ask these in order, one at a time. Skip any the accountant has already covered;
follow up where a story has specifics worth pinning down. Each question is
tagged with the method slot(s) it feeds.

1. [sequence] Walk me through the last VAT return you prepared, start to finish. What did you open first, and why that order?
2. [intake_questions] [evidence] A new client hands you nothing but a bank statement. What do you do before you'll classify a single line?
3. [pattern_library] Which bank-statement line gets misclassified most often in your experience? What does it look like and where should it actually go?
4. [scope_gate] Tell me about a client you refused or referred out. What about their VAT situation made you stop?
5. [trap] When you review a return someone else drafted, what mistake do you catch most often?
6. [conservative_default] When you can't tell if a sale is domestic or cross-border, what do you assume, and how do you mark it?
7. [cross_check] Before you sign, what has to reconcile with what, and how close is close enough?
8. [filing_mechanics] Walk me through filing on the actual portal. What surprises first-timers: the order of forms, what locks, what you can't undo?
9. [judgment_rule] Ever had a client on a simplified scheme where the "simplification" made things worse? How do you decide who belongs on it?
10. [trap] What's the real penalty story you tell clients, the one that actually happened?
11. [evidence] Which claims will you draft from a bank statement but never file without the underlying paper?
12. [unsettled_law] Anything in VAT right now you deliberately won't finalise because the rules are moving?

## Method slots (for tagging the write-up)

- `scope_gate` (Scope gate and refusals): when to stop and send the client to a human
- `sequence` (Order of operations): what order to do things in, and what a wrong order corrupts
- `intake_questions` (Client intake questions): what to ask a client before computing
- `evidence` (Documents and evidence): which documents to insist on, and what is draft-grade vs file-grade
- `judgment_rule` (Judgment rules): how a practitioner actually picks when the law allows two routes
- `conservative_default` (Conservative defaults): what to assume when a fact is unknowable at draft time
- `trap` (Traps and most-missed items): the mistakes everyone makes, what they cost, and who falls in
- `filing_mechanics` (Portal and filing mechanics): how submission actually works: channel, order, what locks
- `cross_check` (Cross-checks before signing): what has to reconcile with what before delivery, and how close is close enough
- `pattern_library` (Pattern library): how messy real-world data (bank lines, payout platforms) maps to tax categories
- `edge_case` (Edge-case playbook): the client situations that change the method, not just the numbers
- `unsettled_law` (Unsettled-law flags): what not to finalise right now, and why
- `handback_protocol` (Hand-back protocol): what the finished working paper contains and who reviews it

## Output format: oa-handback v1

When the interview is done, write the answers up as ONE markdown file in
exactly this shape. Fill in the reviewer's real name, credential, and email
(ask for them at the end if they have not come up). Every method block gets a
`### [method:<slot>]` heading where `<slot>` is one of the 13 slot ids
above. Keep `guide_slug` and `guide_version` exactly as given. Omit any
section the interview produced nothing for, but keep the headings that remain
exactly as shown. The `fact_key` column may be left blank when unknown.

```markdown
---
oa_handback: v1
guide_slug: fiji-vat
guide_version: fiji-vat@2026-04-13T17:53:40.112Z
reviewer_name: <full name>
reviewer_credential: <credential>        # free text: CPA, EA, ACCA, Steuerberater...
reviewer_email: <email>
verdict: <approve | corrections | unable>
---

## METHOD

### [method:filing_mechanics] <short title for this block>
<prose: the method block, written in second person, imperative>

### [method:intake_questions] <short title for this block>
- <question 1>
- ...

## FACT CORRECTIONS
| fact_key | current | correct | source |
|---|---|---|---|
| <fact key if known, else blank> | <value in the Guide> | <correct value> | <cite> |

## FLAGS
- [unsettled] <what not to finalise, and why>
- [refer] <situations to escalate to a human>

## NOTES
<anything that did not fit a method slot or a fact correction>
```

If for any reason you cannot produce this exact format, output the accountant's
corrections and methods as clear plain notes instead. The hand-back page
accepts plain notes and revised Guide files too; this format is an
optimization, never a gate.

---

# THE GUIDE UNDER REVIEW

<!-- guide: fiji-vat · version: fiji-vat@2026-04-13T17:53:40.112Z -->

---
name: fiji-vat
description: Use this skill whenever asked to prepare, review, or classify transactions for a Fiji VAT return for any client. Trigger on phrases like "Fiji VAT", "FRCS filing", "Fiji Revenue", or any request involving Fiji VAT. MUST be loaded alongside vat-workflow-base v0.1 or later. ALWAYS read this skill before touching any Fiji VAT work.
jurisdiction: FJ
domain: vat-gst
tax_year: 2025
---

# fiji-vat

## Section 1 — Quick reference

**Quick reference table**

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Country | Fiji (Republic of Fiji) |
| Standard rate | 9% |
| Zero rate | 0% (exports, basic food items, prescription medicine, education supplies) |
| Exempt | Financial services, residential rent, medical, public transport |
| Return form | VAT return (monthly or quarterly via TPOS) |
| Filing portal | https://www.frcs.org.fj (Taxpayer Online Services) |
| Authority | Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) |
| Currency | FJD (Fiji Dollar) |
| Filing frequencies | Monthly (turnover > FJD 500,000); Quarterly (others) |
| Deadline | Last business day of month following the period |
| Companion skill | vat-workflow-base v0.1 or later — MUST be loaded |
| Validated by | Pending local practitioner validation |

**Conservative defaults**

| Ambiguity | Default |
| --- | --- |
| Unknown rate on a sale | 9% |
| Unknown VAT status of a purchase | Not deductible |
| Unknown counterparty location | Domestic Fiji |
| Unknown business-use proportion | 0% recovery |

**Red flag thresholds**

| Threshold | Value |
| --- | --- |
| HIGH single-transaction size | FJD 10,000 |
| HIGH tax-delta on a single default | FJD 500 |

## Section 2 — Required inputs and refusal catalogue

### Required inputs

- **Minimum viable inputs** — bank statement for the period. Acceptable from: BSP (Bank of the South Pacific), HFC Bank, ANZ Fiji, Westpac Fiji, Bred Bank Fiji.
- **Recommended inputs** — sales invoices, purchase invoices with supplier TIN, client TIN.

### Fiji-specific refusal catalogue

- **R-FJ-1 — Duty-free zone operations** — Trigger: client in tax-free zone or duty-free retail. Message: "Tax-free zone operations have special VAT treatment. Please escalate."
- **R-FJ-2 — Tourism levies interaction** — Trigger: hotel/resort subject to STT/ECAL. Message: "STT and ECAL interact with VAT for tourism operators. Please escalate."

## Section 3 — Supplier pattern library

### 3.1 Fijian banks (fees exempt — exclude)

**Fijian banks pattern table**

| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BSP, BANK SOUTH PACIFIC | EXCLUDE for bank charges | Financial service, exempt |
| HFC BANK, HFC | EXCLUDE for bank charges | Same |
| ANZ FIJI, WESTPAC FIJI, BRED BANK | EXCLUDE for bank charges | Same |
| INTEREST, LOAN, REPAYMENT | EXCLUDE | Out of scope |

### 3.2 Government and statutory bodies (exclude)

**Government and statutory bodies pattern table**

| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| FRCS, FIJI REVENUE | EXCLUDE | Tax payment |
| FNPF, FIJI NATIONAL PROVIDENT | EXCLUDE | Pension contribution |
| CUSTOMS, FIJI CUSTOMS | EXCLUDE | Duty (import VAT separate) |

### 3.3 Utilities

**Utilities pattern table**

| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| EFL, ENERGY FIJI | Domestic 9% | Electricity |
| WAF, WATER AUTHORITY FIJI | Domestic 9% | Water (commercial) |
| VODAFONE FIJI, DIGICEL FIJI | Domestic 9% | Telecoms |

### 3.4 Insurance (exempt — exclude)

**Insurance pattern table**

| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SUN INSURANCE, FMF, QBE FIJI | EXCLUDE | Exempt |

### 3.5 SaaS and international services

**SaaS and international services pattern table**

| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GOOGLE, MICROSOFT, META, AWS | Self-assess 9% | Non-resident digital service |
| ZOOM, SLACK, CANVA, FIGMA | Self-assess 9% | Same |

### 3.6 Payroll and exclusions

**Payroll and exclusions pattern table**

| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SALARY, WAGES | EXCLUDE | Outside VAT scope |
| OWN TRANSFER, INTERNAL | EXCLUDE | Internal movement |
| DIVIDEND, CASH WITHDRAWAL | EXCLUDE / TIER 2 | Out of scope |

## Section 4 — Worked examples

### Example 1 — Standard domestic sale at 9%

**Input line:** `05.04.2026 ; PACIFIC TRADING LTD ; CREDIT ; Invoice FJ-041 ; FJD 1,090`

**Reasoning:** Domestic sale. 9%. Net = FJD 1,000, VAT = FJD 90.

**Example 1 table**

| Date | Counterparty | Gross | Net | VAT | Rate | Field | Default? | Excluded? |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 05.04.2026 | PACIFIC TRADING LTD | +1,090 | +1,000 | 90 | 9% | Output | N | — |

### Example 2 — Export, zero-rated

**Input line:** `15.04.2026 ; NZ IMPORTS LTD ; CREDIT ; Exported produce ; FJD 5,000`

**Example 2 table**

| Date | Counterparty | Gross | Net | VAT | Rate | Field | Default? | Excluded? |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 15.04.2026 | NZ IMPORTS LTD | +5,000 | +5,000 | 0 | 0% | Zero-rated | N | — |

### Example 3 — Non-resident digital service

**Input line:** `18.04.2026 ; MICROSOFT ; DEBIT ; Azure April ; FJD -218`

**Reasoning:** Non-resident. Self-assess 9%. Net = FJD 200, VAT = FJD 18.

**Example 3 table**

| Date | Counterparty | Gross | Net | VAT | Rate | Field | Default? | Excluded? |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 18.04.2026 | MICROSOFT | -218 | -200 | 18 | 9% | Output + Input | N | — |

### Example 4 — Bank charges, excluded

**Input line:** `30.04.2026 ; BSP ; DEBIT ; Account fee ; FJD -25`

**Example 4 table**

| Date | Counterparty | Gross | Net | VAT | Rate | Field | Default? | Excluded? |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 30.04.2026 | BSP | -25 | — | — | — | — | N | "Exempt" |

## Section 5 — Tier 1 classification rules (compressed)

### 5.1 Standard rate 9% — Default for all taxable supplies.

- **Standard rate** — 9%

### 5.2 Zero rate — Exports, basic foodstuffs (specified list), prescription medicines, educational materials.

- **Zero rate** — 0%

### 5.3 Exempt — Financial services, residential rent, medical services, public transport.

- **Exempt categories** — Financial services, residential rent, medical services, public transport.

### 5.4 Input tax credit — Valid tax invoice required. Business purpose. Apportionment if mixed.

- **Input tax credit** — Valid tax invoice required. Business purpose. Apportionment if mixed.

### 5.5 Blocked input — Personal consumption, entertainment, passenger vehicles (unless taxi/rental).

- **Blocked input** — Personal consumption, entertainment, passenger vehicles (unless taxi/rental).

### 5.6 Imports — VAT at 9% on CIF plus duty. Paid at customs.

- **Imports** — VAT at 9% on CIF plus duty. Paid at customs.

### 5.7 Reverse charge — Non-resident services: self-assess 9%.

- **Reverse charge** — Non-resident services: self-assess 9%.

### 5.8 Credit notes — Reduce output/input in period issued.

- **Credit notes** — Reduce output/input in period issued.

## Section 6 — Tier 2 catalogue (compressed)

### 6.1 Vehicle costs — Default: 0%. Question: "Commercial vehicle exclusively for business?"

- **Vehicle costs** — Default: 0%. Question: "Commercial vehicle exclusively for business?"

### 6.2 Entertainment — Default: block. Question: "Business purpose documented?"

- **Entertainment** — Default: block. Question: "Business purpose documented?"

### 6.3 SaaS entities — Default: self-assess 9%. Question: "Check invoice entity."

- **SaaS entities** — Default: self-assess 9%. Question: "Check invoice entity."

### 6.4 Tourism mixed supplies — Default: flag for STT/ECAL. Question: "Hotel/resort operator?"

- **Tourism mixed supplies** — Default: flag for STT/ECAL. Question: "Hotel/resort operator?"

### 6.5 Cash withdrawals — Default: exclude. Question: "Purpose?"

- **Cash withdrawals** — Default: exclude. Question: "Purpose?"

## Section 7 — Excel working paper template

Per vat-workflow-base Section 3, with Fiji fields: Output 9%, Zero-rated, Exempt, Input domestic, Input imports, Net VAT.

## Section 8 — Bank statement reading guide

BSP and HFC exports CSV with DD/MM/YYYY. FJD primary currency. Internal transfers between BSP/HFC/ANZ: exclude. Convert foreign currency at Reserve Bank of Fiji rate.

## Section 9 — Onboarding fallback

### 9.1 TIN — "What is your FRCS TIN?"

- **TIN question** — "What is your FRCS TIN?"

### 9.2 Filing period — Monthly or quarterly based on turnover.

- **Filing period** — Monthly or quarterly based on turnover.

### 9.3 Industry — "What does the business do?"

- **Industry question** — "What does the business do?"

### 9.4 Exports — "Do you export?"

- **Exports question** — "Do you export?"

### 9.5 Credit brought forward — Always ask.

- **Credit brought forward** — Always ask.

## Section 10 — Reference material

### Sources

1. Fiji VAT Act 1991 (as amended). 2. FRCS guidelines. 3. FRCS TPOS portal.

### Known gaps

1. Tourism sector (STT/ECAL) refused. 2. Supplier library covers major banks/utilities only.

### Change log

- v2.0 (April 2026): Full rewrite to Malta v2.0 ten-section structure.

## Disclaimer

This skill and its outputs are provided for informational and computational purposes only and do not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. All outputs must be reviewed by a qualified professional before filing.

The most up-to-date version is maintained at [openaccountants.com](https://openaccountants.com).

## Disclaimer

This skill and its outputs are provided for informational and computational purposes only and do not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Open Accountants and its contributors accept no liability for any errors, omissions, or outcomes arising from the use of this skill. All outputs must be reviewed and signed off by a qualified professional (such as a CPA, EA, tax attorney, or equivalent licensed practitioner in your jurisdiction) before filing or acting upon.

The most up-to-date, verified version of this skill is maintained at [openaccountants.com](https://openaccountants.com). Log in to access the latest version, request a professional review from a licensed accountant, and track updates as tax law changes.