Hotels Tax (CAP. 205 1

CHAPTER 205

THE HOTELS TAX ACT

Arrangement of Sections
Section

1. Short title.
2. Interpretation.
3 . Imposition of tax.
4. Rates of tax.
5. Proprietors to supply certain information.
6. Register of guests.
7. Hotel-bills record.
8. Appointment and duty of Inspectors of hotels.
9. Powers of the Inspectors and Commissioner.

10. Additional charge on overdue tax.
11. Charge and collection of tax.
12. Sale of goods and chattels seized.
13. Demanding or receiving from guest an offence.
14. Penalty.
15. Proof of entries in registers.
16. Cabinet may refund or remit tax.

FIRST SCHEDULE.
SECOND SCHEDULE.

LAWS OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

Hotels Tax (CAP. 205

HOTELS TAX

311973.
(1st November, 1962.) 111974.

311975.
2311976.

311977.
2111982.
1811989.

1. This Act may be cited as the Hotels Tax Act. Short title.

, 2. In this Act unless the context otherwise requires- interpretation.

"Commissioner" means the officer for the time being
performing the duties of Commissioner of Inland
Revenue and includes any officer duly authorised
to act on his behalf;'

" guest" means any person residing in a hotel or guest-
house in consideration of the payment of a sum
of money for such residence, but shall not include
a guest who is a permanent resident:

Provided that notwithstanding anything to the contrary
in this Act, for the purposes of section 3(1) (6) and the proviso
thereto and item (6) of the First Schedule, any reference
therein either direct or by implication to a guest shall be
construed as including a reference to any person who incurs
expenditure for any service specified in item (ii) of the
definition of "hotel-bill" in this section whether or not such
a person resides in or is a permanent resident in the hotel
or guest-house;

"guest-house" means a hotel containing more than four
but less than ten bedrooms;

"hotel" means any building or group of buildings within
Antigua and Barbuda (including all structures
within the curtilage thereof) which are occupied
together for the purpose of accommodating guests
therein, and which contains, or is intended to con-
tain when completed, not less than ten bedrooms;

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4 CAP. 205) Hotels Ta~c

"hotel-bill'' includes any account, bill, invoice, receipt
or other document for or in relation to any sum
of money paid or due and payable to a proprietor
for or in connection with or in consequence of-

(i) accommodation of a guest at the hotel or guest-
house of that proprietor; or

(ii) food, drink and other services supplied by,
through or on behalf of the hotel or guest-house
of that proprietor; or

(iii) both such accommodation and food, drink and
other services,

but does not include in such account, bill, invoice,
receipt or other document for or relating to any sum of money
paid or due and payable as aforesaid for or in respect of
telephone bills, service charges, telegrams, or the hire of taxis
or other motor vehicles;

"Inspector" means an Inspector of Hotels appointed
under section 8 of this Act;

"Minister" means the Minister to whom responsibility
for Tourism is assigned;

"night" means the interval between eight o'clock in
the evening of any day and five o'clock in the morn-
ing of the next succeeding day;

"permanent resident" means-

(a ) a person who during the period of twelve
months immediately preceding the date of coming into
operation of this Act, has been a guest in a hotel or
guest-house or partly in a hotel and partly in a guest-
house for a period of at least sixty consecutive days;

( b ) a person who, during any period of twelve
months commencing on the first day of January in any
year after the date of coming into operation of this Act,
has been a guest in a hotel or guest-house, or partly
in a hotel and partly in a guest-house, for at least sixty
consecutive days during such period of twelve months;

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Hotels Tax (CAP. 205 5

< < proprietor" means the owner of a hotel or guest-house
or any person on whose behalf guests are admitted
to a hotel or guest-house; and where a proprietor
is absent from Antigua and Barbuda, or is a body
corporate, includes the person for the time being
responsible for the management of the hotel, or
guest-house, as the case may be.

3. (1) A tax, to be called hotel tax, shall be charged Imposition of
tax. and collected, subject to and in accordance with the provi-

sions of this Act-

(a) in respect of each guest accommodated during
a night or part of a night, in a hotel or guest-house; and

(b) upon each hotel-bill:

Provided that any portion of the tax that is charged upon
a hotel-bill pursuant to paragraph ( 6 ) of this subsection and
to item (b) of the First Schedule hereto shall be i aid by the First Schedule.
guest to whom that hotel-bill relates and shall be collected
from that guest by the proprietor.

(2) The proprietor of every hotel or guest-house shall
account for the tax charged by this Act in such manner as
the Commissioner may from time to time direct. Such tax
shall be payable by the proprietor accountable for the same,
and shall be paid into the general revenue on such day in
each week as the Commissioner may from time to time direct.

(3) Directions given by the Commissioner in accordance
with the provisions of the preceding subsection shall be in
writing under his hand, and shall be served on the proprietor
of every hotel or guest-house, as the case may be.

(4) Any proprietor who wilfully omits or neglects to col-
lect the tax pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, or to
account for the tax in the manner directed by the Commis-
sioner, or any person who makes any false entry in account-
ing for the tax imposed by this Act with intent to evade pay-
ment by himself, or by any other person, of the said tax,
shall be guilty of an offence against this Act.

LAWS OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

CAP. 205) Hotels Tax

Rates 0: tax. 4. (1) The amount of tax to be charged and collected
under the provisions of this Act shall be in accordance with

First Schedule. the rates set out in the First Schedule hereto.

(2) For the purposes of this section hotels and guest-
houses shall be grouped in such manner, not exceeding four
groups, as the Minister may by Order published in the Gazette
specify and such Order may from time to time by similar
Order be amended by the Minister by adding thereto or
deleting therefrom any such group and specifying in the
Order the date upon or from which such amendment shall
have effect.

Proprietors to
supply certain

5 . (1) The Commissioner may at any time by notice
information. published in the Gazette require all or any proprietors in

Antigua and Barbuda to furnish him, in writing, by a date
to be specified in such notice (which date shall not be less
than seven days after the date of publication of such notice),
with the following information in relation to their hotels and
guest-houses-

(a) the name and address thereof;

(6) the maximum number of guests that may be
accommodated therein during the night; and

(c) the name of the person responsible for the
management thereof.

(2) Every notice published in accordance with the
preceding subsection shall also be published in three con-
secutive issues of a daily newspaper circulating in Antigua
and Barbuda. The date of the first such issues shall be the
same as the date of the issue of the Gazette in which the said
notice is published.

(3) Every proprietor shall without delay furnish to the
Commissioner in writing such information with respect to
the ownership and management of his hotel or guest-house
as the Commissioner may from time to time require.

(4) Any person who begins to use, or ceases to use, any
premises for the purposes of conducting a hotel or guest-
house therein shall forthwith notify the Commissioner in
writing of the fact; and where any person begins to use any

LAWS OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

Hotels Tax (CAP. 205 7

premises as aforesaid he shall forthwith furnish the Com-
missioner with the information required to be furnished under
the provisions of subsection (1) of this section.

(5) The proprietor of every hotel or guest-house shall
forthwith notify the Commissioner in writing of-

(a) any change which occurs in the name or address
thereof;

(6) any change in the maximum number of guests
that can be accommodated therein during the night; and

(c) any other change in the management or owner-
ship thereof which would affect the accuracy of any
information already supplied in accordance with the
foregoing provisions of this section.

(6) Any person who fails to furnish the Commissioner
with any information required to be supplied in accordance
with the foregoing provisions of this section, or otherwise
fails to comply with the foregoing provisions of this section,
shall be guilty of an offence against this Act.

6. (1) Every proprietor shall keep, or cause to be kept, Register of
guests.

a register of guests (hereinafter referred to as the register)
which shall be made of such durable material and shall be
in such form as the Commissioner may from time to time
approve; the approval of the Commissioner shall be signified
in writing under his hand and affixed to the register.

(2) The register shall contain-

(a) the names, permanent address, and qualifica-
tion (or occupation) of each guest;

(6) the date and time of admission of each guest;

(c) the date and time when any person ceases to
be a guest; and

(4 such other particulars as the Commissioner may
from time to time require.

(3) Every proprietor, or the person for the time being
appointed by the proprietor for the purpose of keeping

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8 CAP. 205) Hotels Tax

Hotel-bills
record.

the register, shall require each guest to sign the register
in the appropriate column-

(a) at the time of his admission as a guest; and

( 6 ) immediately before he ceases to be a guest.

(4) Every guest shall sign the register in accordance with
the provisions of the preceding subsection unless he is unable
to sign his name, in which event the proprietor shall make
an entry to that effect in the register.

(5) Any person who fails to comply with the foregoing
provisions of this section, or wilfully makes any false entry
in a register, with intent to evade payment by himself or
by any other person of the tax imposed by this Act, shall
be guilty of an offence against this Act.

7. (1) Every proprietor shall keep, or cause to be kept,
in durable form a record of all hotel-bills (hereinafter refer-
red to as the hotel-bills record) which record shall contain
either the originals of such hotel-bills or photographs thereof
or such other copies thereof as may be approved by the Com-
missioner. A hotel-bills record shall be in such form as the
Commissioner may from time to time approve.

(2) Any person who fails to comply with the provisions
of this section, or wilfully makes any false entry in a hotel-
bills record, with intent to evade payment by himself or by
any other person of the tax imposed by this Act, shall be
guilty of an offence against this Act.

Appointment and
duty of

8. (1) The Commissioner may, in his discretion,
~~~~~~t~~~ of appoint one or more officers of the Inland Revenue Depart-
hotels. ment to inspect hotels and guest-houses in Antigua and

Barbuda and every such officer shall be known as an Inspector
of Hotels. It shall be the duty of every Inspector to visit such
hotels and guest-houses in Antigua and Barbuda as the Com-
missioner may direct, for the purpose of examining the
registers and hotel-bills record thereof and ascertaining the
number of guests from time to time resident therein.

(2) Every Inspector shall at least once in each month,
and at such other times as the Commissioner may direct,

LAWS OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

Hotels Tax (CAP. 205 9

make a report to the Commissioner on all hotels and guest-
houses visited by him, and such reports shall be in such form
and contain such particulars as the Commissioner may
require.

(3) Every Inspector shall be furnished with a certificate
of appointment issued under the hand of the Commissioner
and shall produce the same to any proprietor when required
so to do.

9. (1) An Inspector may at any reasonable time of Powers of the
Inspectors and

the day or night enter upon the premises of any hotel or ~,mm;ss;o,er.
guest-house for the purpose of examining the register and
hotel-bills record thereof, and may require the proprietor
to produce the register and hotel-bills record for his examina-
tion. An Inspector may remain on such premises as long
as may be necessary for the purpose of ascertaining the
number of guests residing therein or of examining the hotel-
bills record thereof.

(2) An Inspector, upon the production of his certificate
of appointment to any person in a hotel or guest-house whom
he has reasonable cause to suspect to be a guest therein, may
require such person to give him his name and address; and
any such person who wilfully omits or refuses to give the
Inspector his correct name and address shall be guilty of an
offence against this Act.

(3) If an Inspector, when requested by a proprietor to
produce his certificate of appointment in accordance with
the provisions of subsection (3) of section 8 of this Act fails
to do so, the proprietor may refuse to permit him to remain
on his premises, or to examine his register.

(4) Subject to the provisions of the preceding subsec-
tion, any proprietor who fails to produce his register or hotel-
bills record for examination when required to do so by an
Inspector shall be guilty of an offence against this Act, and
any person who wilfully hinders or obstructs an Inspector
in the performance of his duties shall be guilty of an offence
against this Act.

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10 CAP. 205) Hotels Tax

(5) The Commissioner may at all reasonable hours in
the daytime enter upon the premises of any hotel or guest-
house for the purpose of examining the register and hotel-
bills record thereof, and may require the proprietor thereof
to produce the register and hotel-bills record for his examina-
tion; and any proprietor who fails to produce his register
or hotel-bills record to the Commissioner for examination,
or any person who wilfully hinders or obstructs the Com-
missioner in the performance of his duty shall be guilty of
an offence against this Act.

Additional charge
on overdue tax.

10. When any tax imposed by this Act, or any part
thereof, remains unpaid at the expiration of the fifth day
after the date on which it should have been paid into general
revenue, the proprietor liable to pay the same, shall be
charged an additional sum equivalent to ten per centum of
the amount of the tax so remaining unpaid, and such sum
shall be collectable in the same manner as if it were part
of the said tax then due and owing.

Charge and 1 . Any such tax due and owing under the provi-
collection of tax.

sions of this Act shall be a first charge on the goods and
chattels of the proprietor accountable for the same, and shall
take priority over any other charge or debt due by speciality
or otherwise, except debts due to the Crown; and such tax
shall be levied and collected by the seizure and sale of the
goods and chattels of the proprietor accountable for the same.

(2) The Commissioner may at any time prepare, date
and sign a list (hereinafter called a defaulters list) which shall

Second Schedule. be in the form set out in the Second Schedule to this Act
and shall contain-

(a) the name and address of the proprietors by
whom such tax is due and owing; and the name of the
hotels and guest-houses of such proprietors;

(6) the amount of tax due and owing by each pro-
prietor, together with any additional amount that may
have been charged thereon,

and shall deliver the same to the Provost Marshal for collec-
tion of the respective amounts specified therein.

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Hotels Tax (CAP. 205 1 1

(3) As soon as may be after the Provost Marshal has
received a defaulters list he shall proceed to levy and collect
the several amounts shown therein in the manner prescribed
in subsection (1) of this section.

12. (1) Where any goods and chattels have been :;zt;fss,d:;d
seized as aforesaid, they shall be marked, and deposited in
some place, or left in the possession of some fit person as
the Provost Marshal shall direct.

(2) If the tax in respect of which the levy was made
and all expenses incidental to such levy are not sooner paid,
all goods and chattels seized as aforesaid shall be sold at public
auction, at such place and during such hours as the Provost
Marshal shall determine:

Provided that no such sale shall take place within five
days of the seizure of such goods and chattels, unless the
same are in the opinion of the Provost Marshal of a perishable
nature, or the owner of such goods and chattels has requested
their earlier sale.

(3) The date, time and place of sale of all goods and
chattels seized under the provisions of this Act shall be adver-
tised prior to the date of sale thereof in at least one issue
of the Gazette and of a daily newspaper circulating in Antigua
and Barbuda unless such goods and chattels are being sold
by the Provost Marshal before the expiry of the period of
five days referred to in the preceding subsection.

(4) The proceeds of sale of such goods and chattels shall
be applied first towards the payment of the expenses inciden-
tal to their seizure and sale and the payment of the tax in
respect of which they were seized, and the balance, if any,
of the proceeds of such sale shall be paid to the proprietor
from whom the said goods and chattels were seized upon
application being made for the same.

(5) The Provost Marshal shall forward to the Commis-
sioner at least once in each month, a return of all taxes col-
lected by him under the provisions of this Act, and shall
pay all such taxes into the general revenue as soon as may
be after the collection thereof.

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12 CAP. 205) Hotels Tax

Demanding or
receiving from 13. Any proprietor or other person who-
guest an offence.

(a) demands from any guest payment of the whole
or any part of the tax charged in accordance with the
provisions of paragraph (a) of subsection ( 1 ) of Section 3

First Schedule. and of item (a) of the First Schedule; or

(6) receives payment from any guest of any amount
tendered in respect of the payment of the whole or any
part of the tax mentioned in paragraph (a), whether the
same has been demanded or not,

shall be guilty of an offence.

Penalty. 14. Any person found guilty of an offence against this
Act shall on summary conviction be liable to a fine not
exceeding three thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a
term not exceeding six months.

Proof of entries
in registers.

15. A copy of, or extract from, entries in a register,
upon which is endorsed a certificate purporting to be signed
by the Commissioner, stating that such copy or extract is
a true copy or extract from a particular register shall in all
legal proceedings be admittted as prima facie evidence of the
entries in the said register until the contrary is proved.

Cabinet may
refund or remit
tax.

16. The Cabinet, if satisfied that it is just and
equitable to do so, may refund or remit, as the case may
be, the whole or any part of the tax paid or payable under
the provisions of this Act, together with any additional charge
imposed thereon and any expenses of levy incurred in con-
nection with the collection of such tax.

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Hotels Tax (CAP. 205 13

FIRST SCHEDULE (Section 4)

(a) For each guest residing for a night or part of a night
in an hotel or a guest-house as specified by Order made under
section 4 to be within-

Group I
Group I1
Group I11
Group IV

$12.50 per night.
$10.00 per night.
$ 6.50 per night.
$3.50 per night.

(b) On each hotel bill -Five per centum of the sum
of money in respect of every
item of the hotel bill.

(c ) Paragraph (a) of this Schedule does not apply to a
guest who is a child under the age of thirteen years and who
is not accommodated at a hotel or a guest-house separately
from any person accompanying that child at the hotel or guest-
house, such accompanying person being also a guest at that
hotel or guest-house.

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