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openaccountants/skills/brunei-tax.md
brunei-tax.md174 lines7.0 KB
v20
1---
2name: brunei-tax
3description: Use this skill whenever asked about Brunei Darussalam tax obligations. Trigger on phrases like "Brunei tax", "Brunei VAT", "Brunei GST", "corporate tax Brunei", "MOFE filing". Brunei has NO VAT/GST and NO personal income tax. This skill covers corporate income tax at 18.5% and clarifies the absence of consumption tax. MUST be loaded alongside vat-workflow-base v0.1 or later. ALWAYS read this skill before touching any Brunei tax work.
4version: 2.0
5---
6 
7# Brunei Darussalam Tax Skill v2.0
8 
9## Section 1 — Quick reference
10 
11| Field | Value |
12|---|---|
13| Country | Brunei Darussalam |
14| VAT/GST | NONE — Brunei does NOT have a VAT, GST, or any consumption tax |
15| Personal income tax | NONE |
16| Corporate income tax | 18.5% on chargeable income |
17| Return form | Corporate income tax return (annual) |
18| Filing portal | MOFE Revenue Division |
19| Authority | Revenue Division, Ministry of Finance and Economy (MOFE) |
20| Currency | BND (Brunei Dollar, pegged 1:1 to SGD) |
21| Filing frequency | Annual (corporate tax only) |
22| Deadline | Within 6 months of financial year-end |
23| Companion skill | vat-workflow-base v0.1 or later — MUST be loaded |
24| Validated by | Pending local practitioner validation |
25 
26**CRITICAL: Brunei has NO consumption tax.** There is no VAT return to prepare. This skill exists to prevent misclassification and to provide the corporate tax framework.
27 
28**Conservative defaults:**
29 
30| Ambiguity | Default |
31|---|---|
32| Unknown tax obligation | No consumption tax; corporate tax only if company |
33| Unknown withholding tax | Check if payment to non-resident triggers WHT |
34 
35---
36 
37## Section 2 — Required inputs and refusal catalogue
38 
39### Required inputs
40 
41**Minimum viable** — financial statements for the year. Bank statements from: BIBD (Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam), Baiduri Bank, Standard Chartered Brunei, HSBC Brunei.
42 
43### Brunei-specific refusal catalogue
44 
45**R-BN-1 — Petroleum sector.** Trigger: client in oil/gas under Petroleum Income Tax Act. Message: "Petroleum companies are taxed under a separate regime (55% + 20% on profits). Please escalate."
46 
47**R-BN-2 — VAT/GST return request.** Trigger: user asks for VAT/GST return preparation. Message: "Brunei does NOT have a VAT/GST or any consumption tax. No consumption tax return exists. If you need corporate income tax assistance, this skill can help."
48 
49---
50 
51## Section 3 — Supplier pattern library
52 
53### 3.1 Brunei banks
54 
55| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
56|---|---|---|
57| BIBD, BANK ISLAM BRUNEI | Bank charges are a deductible expense | No VAT component |
58| BAIDURI, BAIDURI BANK | Same | Same |
59| STANDARD CHARTERED BN, HSBC BN | Same | Same |
60| INTEREST | Interest expense — deductible if for business | No VAT |
61 
62### 3.2 Government (exclude from expense claims where non-deductible)
63 
64| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
65|---|---|---|
66| MOFE, REVENUE DIVISION | Tax payment — not deductible | Corporate tax |
67| TAP, EMPLOYEE TRUST FUND | Pension — deductible | Tabung Amanah Pekerja |
68 
69### 3.3 Utilities
70 
71| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
72|---|---|---|
73| DES, DEPT OF ELECTRICAL SERVICES | Deductible expense | No consumption tax |
74| DST, PROGRESIF, IMAGINE | Deductible expense | Telecoms |
75 
76### 3.4 SaaS and international services
77 
78| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
79|---|---|---|
80| GOOGLE, MICROSOFT, META, AWS | Deductible expense; check WHT on non-resident services | No consumption tax; WHT may apply |
81| ZOOM, SLACK, CANVA | Same | Same |
82 
83### 3.5 Payroll
84 
85| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
86|---|---|---|
87| SALARY, WAGES | Deductible expense | No income tax on employees |
88| TAP CONTRIBUTION | Deductible | Mandatory employee savings |
89 
90---
91 
92## Section 4 — Worked examples
93 
94### Example 1 — No consumption tax applies
95 
96**Input line:** `05.04.2026 ; LOCAL CLIENT ; CREDIT ; Consulting fee ; BND 10,000`
97 
98**Reasoning:** Brunei has no VAT/GST. This is revenue for corporate tax purposes. No consumption tax to charge or report.
99 
100| Date | Counterparty | Gross | Net | Tax | Rate | Return field | Notes |
101|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
102| 05.04.2026 | LOCAL CLIENT | +10,000 | +10,000 | 0 | N/A | Revenue | No consumption tax |
103 
104### Example 2 — Purchase from overseas vendor
105 
106**Input line:** `18.04.2026 ; AWS ; DEBIT ; Cloud hosting ; BND -500`
107 
108**Reasoning:** No VAT/GST to self-assess. Check if withholding tax applies on payment to non-resident (typically 10% on management/technical fees, 15% on royalties).
109 
110| Date | Counterparty | Gross | Net | Tax | Rate | Return field | Notes |
111|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
112| 18.04.2026 | AWS | -500 | -500 | 0 | N/A | Expense | Check WHT |
113 
114---
115 
116## Section 5 — Tier 1 classification rules (compressed)
117 
118### 5.1 No consumption tax — Brunei has no VAT, GST, sales tax, or service tax.
119### 5.2 Corporate income tax — 18.5% on chargeable income for companies.
120### 5.3 No personal income tax — Individuals not taxed on income.
121### 5.4 Withholding tax — 10% on management/technical fees to non-residents; 15% on royalties; other rates per treaty.
122### 5.5 Stamp duty — Applies to certain documents (property transfers, share transfers).
123### 5.6 Customs duty — Applies on imports (separate from any consumption tax, which does not exist).
124 
125---
126 
127## Section 6 — Tier 2 catalogue (compressed)
128 
129### 6.1 WHT on non-resident payments — Default: flag. Question: "Is this a management/technical fee or royalty to a non-resident?"
130### 6.2 Petroleum operations — Default: refuse (R-BN-1).
131### 6.3 Tax treaty benefits — Default: flag. Question: "Does Brunei have a DTA with the recipient's country?"
132 
133---
134 
135## Section 7 — Excel working paper template
136 
137Per vat-workflow-base Section 3, adapted for corporate tax: Revenue, Deductible expenses, Non-deductible expenses, Chargeable income, Tax at 18.5%.
138 
139---
140 
141## Section 8 — Bank statement reading guide
142 
143BIBD and Baiduri exports CSV/PDF. BND primary (pegged to SGD). Malay language descriptions common. Internal transfers: exclude. No VAT extraction needed — all amounts are gross.
144 
145---
146 
147## Section 9 — Onboarding fallback
148 
149### 9.1 Entity type — "Company, sole proprietor, or partnership?" (Only companies pay corporate tax.)
150### 9.2 Financial year — "What is your financial year-end?"
151### 9.3 Petroleum sector — "Are you in oil and gas?" (If yes, R-BN-1 fires.)
152### 9.4 Non-resident payments — "Do you pay management fees or royalties to non-residents?"
153 
154---
155 
156## Section 10 — Reference material
157 
158### Sources
1591. Income Tax Act (Chapter 35). 2. Companies Income Tax Act (Chapter 97). 3. Petroleum Income Tax Act. 4. MOFE Revenue Division guidelines.
160 
161### Known gaps
1621. Petroleum sector refused. 2. No consumption tax means most of the vat-workflow-base structure is inapplicable.
163 
164### Change log
165- v2.0 (April 2026): Full rewrite to Malta v2.0 ten-section structure. Emphasis on absence of VAT/GST.
166 
167---
168 
169## Disclaimer
170 
171This 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.
172 
173The most up-to-date version is maintained at [openaccountants.com](https://openaccountants.com).
174 

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Use this skill whenever asked about Brunei Darussalam tax obligations. Trigger on phrases like "Brunei tax", "Brunei VAT", "Brunei GST", "corporate tax Brunei", "MOFE filing". Brunei has NO VAT/GST and NO personal income tax. This skill covers corporate income tax at 18.5% and clarifies the absence of consumption tax. MUST be loaded alongside vat-workflow-base v0.1 or later. ALWAYS read this skill before touching any Brunei tax work.

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