Tonga VAT rate
Tonga's value-added-type tax is called CONSUMPTION TAX (CT), not VAT and not GST. Levied on taxable supplies by taxable persons and on taxable imports under section 5 of the Consumption Tax Act (Act 29 of 2003, CAP. 11.01), administered by the Ministry of Revenue and Customs (MORC). The 'vat' series id is used per the schema; the instrument's correct name is Consumption Tax.
| Current value | 15 percent |
|---|---|
| In force from | 2005-04-01 |
| Official source | Consumption Tax Act, CAP. 11.01 (2020 Revised Edition), section 5(3)(a): 'The rate of Consumption Tax shall be 15 per cent provided that the Minister with the consent of Cabinet may by Order direct what shall be an exempt import, exempt supply or a zero rated supply for the purposes of this Act' |
| Last verified | 2026-07-23 |
| Verification | primary — No verification limitation recorded — read from the official source cited. |
| Provenance | source fingerprint |
What this value means
The 15% rate is fixed IN THE PRIMARY STATUTE (s.5(3)(a)), not in a rates order — so it can only move by amending Act, which is why the update cycle is long. Unusually, the Minister's Order power under s.5(3)(a) extends only to designating exempt/zero-rated items, NOT to changing the rate. In force since 1 April 2005: MORC states 'Consumption Tax (CT) is a tax on spending levied on the supply of most goods and services in Tonga at the rate of 15% with effect from 1st April 2005' (https://www.revenue.gov.to/consumption-tax-overview). Registration threshold: TOP 100,000 of taxable supplies in a 12-month period (s.6(1)), with a matching threshold for reverse-charged imported services under s.6(2A) (s.15); registration must be applied for within 7 days of becoming liable. s.5(3)(b): supplies and imports for His Majesty the King are exempt. CT is charged on imports at the border by Customs on the duty-inclusive value (cost + insurance + freight + customs duty + other charges). Input tax credit is denied on electricity, insurance, water beyond the first 20 cubic metres, entertainment, suppliers not registered for CT, and private vehicle use without a log book. Verified against the consolidated Act on the Attorney General's Office legislation site (ago.gov.to), which is the official Tongan legislation repository; the AGO's alphabetical index shows the last amendment as the Consumption Tax (Amendment) Act 2020, and MORC published no rate change in its news feed through July 2026. Access notes: revenue.gov.to presents an incomplete TLS chain ('unable to verify the first certificate') and must be fetched with relaxed certificate validation; its /public-notice path returns 'Access denied'; its Tax Legislations index is stale (newest item listed is the Income Tax (Amendment) Order 2017).
Get it programmatically
curl https://ausref.dev/v1/to/vat
# $0.001 per call — x402 on Base (USDC). No key, no signup.
# History: curl https://ausref.dev/v1/to/vat/history?from=2020-01-01
# Provenance: curl https://ausref.dev/provenance/to/vatOther Tonga series: policy interest rate · minimum wage · public holidays · inflation rate (CPI) · corporate tax rate · income tax rates