A $121.8 million waiver and write-off by the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) in 2018 contravened the Fijian Constitution, states the 2019-2020 Audit Report on Statutory Authorities, Independent Body and Commissions that was tabled in Parliament recently.
Auditor-General Ajay Nand said FRCS wasn’t aware it had to report any waiver or write-offs to the auditor-general as required under the Constitution.
“The FRCS was not aware of this requirement of the Constitution at the time of the audit,” stated the OAG.
FRCS, the major funder of government’s national budget, is a statutory organisation that is governed by a board and administered by a chief executive officer.
The auditor-general said the write-off was stated in the FRCS annual report for the year ended July 31, 2018.
“We noted that FRCS did not comply with the requirement in section 139 (3) (b) of the 2013 Constitution,” the OAG report said.
The Constitution requires the OAG should be informed about any waiver or write-offs.
“Even though record of waivers were maintained by the entity, these were not formally reported to the auditor-general as required in the 2013 Constitution.
“The FRCS was not aware of this requirement of the Constitution at the time of the audit.
“The FRCS has noted the recommendation to ensure that the requirement of the 2013 Constitution is complied with and will be submitting quarterly reports of waivers/write-offs.”
