Resident Interest Witholding Tax

General Information

The Government has introduced legislation, which will require banks and other financial institutions to deduct withholding tax of 31% from payments of interest to its customers. This legislation was effective from 1st January 1999.

Resident Interest Withholding Tax (RIWT) shall not be payable where:

interest income received where the principal deposit is derived from exempt income :

  • interest income received by the depositor in the current year does not exceed two hundred dollars FJ$200. In those cases where interest is paid or credited monthly, quarterly or on some other basis, no withholding tax will be deducted if total interest earned in that period does not exceed the yearly equivalent of FJ$200 for those periods.
  • A Certificate of Exemption (COE), which is issued by the Authority, is provided to the taxpayer upon application who then forwards it to the financial instituation so that no RIWT is deducted. A COE will be issued in those cases where:
    • The person/organisation is exempt from income tax under the provisions of the Income Tax Act Cap. 201 (e.g. charitable and religious bodies).

Where to lodge your application.

Mail your application form to Revenue Collection Division. No postage is required. Alternatively you could forward the completed form to any of our Customer Enquiry Centres.

What are the requirements for the application of RIWT Exemption Certificate?

RIWT is collected by banks from interest paid, if the source of the deposit is not exempt income.Tax exempt persons need to have a COE to avoid having RIWT deducted from their interest. Before a COE will be given, the applicant must:

  • have all their tax returns lodged and
  • have all their taxes paid and
  • be able to explain the source of the funds on which interest is earned.

If the applicant does not have a TIN, they must complete the form Application for Registration as well as the Application Form for COE from RIWT.

What to submit with the application form for RIWT COE?

Evidence of source of funds must be submitted together with your application.

If there is any other source of the funds, you are to provide a full description.

Sources of funds may include:

  • business profits.
  • savings from salary.
  • withdrawals from FNPF.
  • sale of assets.

If the source is from sale of assets, describe each asset and give its net sale price, for example: “sale of house at 21 Ocean Street Suva for FJ$100,000 net of agent's commission”.

If the application is successful the person will be given a COE, which they can show to their bank. The bank will then not deduct RIWT. RIWT Certificates of Exemption are renewed on a yearly basis.

Validity of COE

The Certificate is valid for a period of one year from the date of issue.