Papua New Guinea GST registration threshold
Papua New Guinea GST registration threshold is 250000 PGK, in force since 1 Jan 2012. It was 100000 PGK before that. Last checked against the official source on 10 Aug 2026.
The turnover at which GST registration becomes compulsory in Papua New Guinea, with the period the test runs over, the rule for non-established suppliers, and any separate treatment of imported digital services.
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What this value means
PERIOD BASIS: a rolling 12-month test with two limbs. Backward (s.43(1)(a)): liability arises at the END of any month where the total value of supplies, EXCLUDING EXEMPT SUPPLIES, made in PNG in that month plus the 11 preceding months has EXCEEDED K250,000 — so exactly K250,000 does not trigger it, and zero-rated supplies (Division 6, e.g. exported goods s.19) still count. Forward (s.43(1)(b)): liability arises at the COMMENCEMENT of any month where there are reasonable grounds for believing taxable supplies in that month plus the following 11 months will exceed the amount. s.43(2)-(3) relieve a backward-limb crossing where the Commissioner is satisfied the next 12 months will not exceed the amount, or the crossing is solely due to cessation/substantial permanent scale reduction of the activity or replacement of plant or capital assets. s.43(4): the person must apply in the prescribed form within 21 days of becoming liable (or before the end of the period by reference to which liability arises, if earlier); registration takes effect from the first day of the following month. s.43(5) allows voluntary registration by anyone carrying on (or intending to carry on) a taxable activity, with no minimum. NON-ESTABLISHED SUPPLIERS: no separate threshold — the K250,000 test itself counts only supplies 'made in Papua New Guinea', and place of supply (s.13) does most of the work. s.13(1): supplies by a non-resident are deemed made OUTSIDE PNG, except that s.13(2) deems them made in PNG where (i) the goods are in PNG at the time of supply, or (ii) the services are physically performed in PNG by a person in PNG, or (iii) the services are performed outside PNG for the use or benefit within PNG of a PNG resident. A non-resident within limbs (i)-(ii) faces the ordinary K250,000 test on those PNG supplies. Limb (iii) supplies are instead REVERSE-CHARGED: s.14 treats the PNG recipient as having supplied the services in the course of its taxable activity (with restricted input-tax treatment under s.14(2)), so the non-resident performer neither registers nor counts that turnover. Imported goods are taxed at entry under s.6 irrespective of anyone's turnover. IMPORTED DIGITAL SERVICES: no vendor-collection regime — PNG has NOT enacted a non-resident digital/electronic-services registration scheme as of August 2026. Cross-border digital services to PNG residents fall, if anywhere, under s.13(2)(b)(iii) + s.14 reverse charge (effective burden only where the recipient carries on a taxable activity; there is no mechanism collecting GST on B2C digital supplies to consumers). Budget-cycle proposals to tax offshore digital services have circulated but none is law; do not anticipate them. Traps: (1) The consolidated/as-enacted text on PacLII still reads K100,000.00 in s.43(1)(a) — the current K250,000 comes only from s.7 of the 2011 amendment (in force 1 January 2012); quoting the principal Act alone gives a figure 12 years stale. (2) It is an 'has exceeded' test — exactly K250,000 does not oblige registration. (3) The backward limb excludes exempt supplies but NOT zero-rated ones: a pure exporter can be obliged to register. (4) The two limbs test at different instants (end of month vs commencement of month) — computing both on a calendar-year or accounting-period basis is wrong; it is any rolling 12-month window. (5) The 21-day application clock runs from becoming liable, and registration then takes effect prospectively from the first day of the next month — but trading past the trigger still exposes the person for the interim. (6) s.43(1)(a) says 'or such larger amount as may … be prescribed' — the amount can move by regulation without an amendment act, so check subordinate legislation, not just Acts. (7) Applying the K250,000 threshold to a non-resident supplying services performed abroad for use in PNG is wrong — that supply is reverse-charged to the recipient under s.14 and never counts toward the supplier's threshold. (8) No digital-services registration regime exists — treating PNG like Fiji or NZ on B2C digital supplies is wrong as of 2026. (9) Later GST amendment Acts through the Goods and Services (2025 Budget) (Amendment) Act 2024 were checked on PacLII and none touches s.43 — the figure has stood since 1 January 2012.
Earlier values
| From | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2004-01-01 | 100000 | Goods and Services Tax Act 2003 (No. 38 of 2003)… |
Get it programmatically
curl https://ausref.dev/v1/pg/vat-registration-threshold
# $0.005 per call — x402 on Base (USDC). No key, no signup.
# History: curl https://ausref.dev/v1/pg/vat-registration-threshold/history?from=2020-01-01
# Provenance: curl https://ausref.dev/provenance/pg/vat-registration-thresholdOther Papua New Guinea series: Kina Facility Rate (KFR) · Goods and Services Tax (GST) standard rate · National minimum wage (hourly) · Public holidays · CPI inflation (year-on-year) · Corporate income tax rate · Withholding tax rates · Statutory interest on debts and damages · Personal income tax brackets (resident individuals) · Statutory social-insurance contributions
The same figure elsewhere: Samoa · Solomon Islands · Tonga · Vanuatu · Australia · all 8