Tonga has prohibited the import of passenger vehicles older than 15 years under a recent Customs and Excise Management Act Order 2021 made on 2 March. Penalties came into effect last week.

The Ministry of Revenue and Customs explained to business owners yesterday that this comes under the tariff heading 8703 for “vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons”.

'Esafe Tokai Principal Revenue Officer (Customs) told a consultation for the Tonga Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. that the provision for forfeiture and destruction with a new penalty fee of $1000 started on 3 May 2021. This applies to vehicles with “a model year equal to or more than 15 years from the date of import.”

Exemptions from duty, excise and consumption taxes

Tonga has exempted goods from import taxes where they are related to combating the COVID-19 pandemic, customs officers explained.

Goods such as medical masks, disinfectants, gloves and protective clothing were exempted from Import Duty, Excise Tax and Consumption Tax in a measure Gazetted last year on March 27 with no time limit.

Further exemptions from the taxes were Gazetted on 1 April this year for  imports up to 30 June 2021 of:

• Food items and personal consumer goods not for commercial purposes;
• Goods including all food items, all goods for personal hygiene such as soap, shampoo, toilet paper, and cleaning products

A short window for Duty free and CT free import of building materials was Gazetted on 1 April 2021 for imports up to 30 June 2021. This is for the construction of private dwellings, community project buildings and education project buildings.