THE BARBADOS IMMIGRATION Department sincerely apologises for any inconvenience caused by the increased waiting times for appointments via its online platform, and is actively working to correct the problem, which is expected to be resolved shortly.
However, applicants may visit the Department if an interview appointment is needed earlier than scheduled due to an urgent situation. In these circumstances, the applicants may be required to provide documentation to support the need for urgency.
Please note that passports should be valid for at least six months on the date of departure. The Department therefore strongly encourages Barbadians seeking to apply for passports to plan ahead and visit our website before their planned travel dates.
Barbadians seeking to travel are reminded to refrain from finalising their travel arrangements, including purchasing their airline ticket, until they have received their new passport.
Kindly note ten working days should be allowed for the normal administrative processing of the passport. (BGIS)
BRA hosting tax clinics
WITH THE MAY 3 INCOME TAX filing deadline date quickly approaching, the Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) is urging members of the public to take advantage of its ongoing tax clinics at Massy Stores.
BRA’s Communications Officer, Erica Lazare said the first clinic, which took place last Saturday, was held with the busy taxpayer in mind, and was a great help to those persons who have filing queries.
“We understand that some people simply do not have the time to come to us during the week and prefer face-to-face interaction when looking for clarification on areas.
“We wanted to make sure that we gave those persons a chance to have access to our customer services at a more convenient time outside of regular working hours,” she stated.
Lazare explained that forgotten passwords and email addresses were the biggest reasons for the long lines seen at the Treasury Building, Holetown and Weymouth Corporate Centre customer service locations during the last few days before the filing deadline.
“We continually have persons who come to us not knowing their passwords, or more importantly, not having access to the email address they used when registering. Not knowing the password is easily fixed by simply clicking on the reset password button but the new password is sent via the email address we have on record, so you see the problem some persons would have if they cannot access their email,” she explained.
Lazare stated that although the majority of queries at last week’s clinics were income tax-related, persons are free to seek information on other tax areas such as Value Added Tax or Land Tax.
She is also encouraging persons to file before the deadline to avoid the $500 late filing penalty.
The remaining clinics will be held today and Saturday, April 30, at Massy Stores in Warrens, Sky Mall, and Sheraton and will be held simultaneously from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (BGIS)
