Samoa VAGST registration threshold

What this value means

PERIOD BASIS: twin test on the total value of taxable supplies, 'exceeds' drafting — exactly WST 130,000 does not trigger it. Forward (s.9(1)(a)): at the beginning of a 12-month period, on reasonable expectation. Backward (s.9(1)(b)): at the end of a 12-month period OR A LESSER PERIOD — a fast-growing new business is caught before it has traded a year. Public authorities register on commencing any taxable activity regardless of turnover (s.9(1)(c)). s.9(3) IGNORES supplies from selling a capital asset (tangible or intangible, useful life over 1 year, not inventory) and supplies made solely from selling the whole/part of the taxable activity or permanently ceasing it. s.9(4): the Commissioner may aggregate taxable supplies of an ASSOCIATE. s.9(7): 'taxable supply made by a person' INCLUDES a supply of imported services made TO the person (tested as if already registered) — imported services purchased count toward the recipient's own threshold. Application in approved form within 15 WORKING DAYS of becoming required (s.9(6)); the Commissioner registers compulsorily if a liable person fails to apply (s.10(1)(b)). Voluntary registration under s.9(5). Deregistration under s.11 when annual taxable supplies fall below the threshold, unless the fall is expected to be only temporary. NON-ESTABLISHED SUPPLIERS: same WST 130,000 threshold, but with a real B2C inbound net and a representative regime. 'Taxable supply' means a supply made IN SAMOA in the course of a taxable activity; place of supply of services (s.17(1)) is where the supplier's taxable activity is — but s.17(2) overrides it where the RECIPIENT IS NOT A REGISTERED PERSON and the services are: physically performed in Samoa, related to Samoan immovable property, broadcasting received at a Samoan address, ELECTRONIC SERVICES delivered to a person in Samoa, IP rights for use in Samoa, or telecommunications initiated by a person in Samoa (with s.17(3) initiator tie-breakers, excluding global-roaming visitors). A non-resident making such supplies above the threshold must register, and under s.44 a non-resident 'required to apply for registration under section 9' that 'does not carry on a taxable activity through a fixed place in Samoa' MUST appoint a GST representative in Samoa (registration in the non-resident's name, representative responsible for returns and payment, security may be required). B2B imported services are instead handled recipient-side: 'supply of imported services' (s.6) is a supply to a REGISTERED person by an unregistered person, not made in Samoa but taxable if it had been, where the recipient would NOT have full input-tax credit — GST at 15% imposed on the recipient (s.8(1)(c)), valued under s.19 (fair market value between associates; reduced by the creditable proportion), accounted for by the recipient under s.42. IMPORTED DIGITAL SERVICES: covered, but split by customer status rather than by a separate regime or threshold. B2C: s.17(2)(d) places 'electronic services delivered to a person in Samoa' (defined s.17(4): websites/web-hosting, software and updates, images/text/information, databases, self-education packages, music/films/games including games of chance, broadcasts) IN Samoa when the customer is unregistered — so a non-resident digital vendor's Samoan B2C sales count toward the ordinary WST 130,000 threshold and, once over it, force registration via a s.44 GST representative. There is no simplified e-registration portal and no separate digital threshold. B2B: falls into the s.6/s.8(1)(c) reverse charge on the registered recipient (only to the extent input credit would be denied). CAVEAT: s.1(2) commenced the Act on assent EXCEPT 'provisions relating to "supply of imported services"', which 'are to commence on a date nominated by the Minister' — no nomination instrument could be located, so the recipient-side reverse charge's in-force status is unverified; the s.17(2) B2C place-of-supply rules are NOT part of that carve-out and are in force. Traps: (1) s.9(2) reads 'at least $130,000' — a floor formulation, not 'the threshold is $130,000'; the Ministry publishes WST 130,000 and nothing higher has been set, but the drafting leaves room for an instrument raising it; check subordinate instruments before assuming immutability. (2) 'Exceeds' — exactly WST 130,000 does not oblige registration. (3) The backward test runs over '12 months or a lesser period' — month one can trigger it. (4) Imported services received count toward the RECIPIENT'S threshold (s.9(7)) — a business below 130,000 on sales can be pushed over by offshore purchases. (5) The application window is 15 working days, not 21/30 calendar days. (6) The imported-services (reverse charge) provisions had a deferred commencement 'on a date nominated by the Minister' — do not assert the B2B reverse charge is operative without finding the nomination; the B2C s.17(2) rules do not share that deferral. (7) The Act replaced the VAGST Act 1992/1993 lineage — the voluntary-registration clause still references 'on or after 1 January 1994', a fossil from the 1992 Act; pre-2015 citations (VAGST Act 1992/1993 s.8, WST 78,000 or 100,000 figures) are obsolete. (8) Rate is 15% (s.8(3)); the AG's official consolidation as at 31 Dec 2023 shows the only post-2015 amendment is the Yazaki Samoa Enterprise Act 2016 (a Schedule 1 exemption) — the threshold has stood at WST 130,000 since 5 November 2015. (9) Public authorities have a NIL threshold (s.9(1)(c)) — turnover arguments are irrelevant for them.

Get it programmatically

curl https://ausref.dev/v1/ws/vat-registration-threshold
# $0.005 per call — x402 on Base (USDC). No key, no signup.
# History:    curl https://ausref.dev/v1/ws/vat-registration-threshold/history?from=2020-01-01
# Provenance: curl https://ausref.dev/provenance/ws/vat-registration-threshold

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The same figure elsewhere: Solomon Islands · Tonga · Vanuatu · Australia · Fiji · all 8