NO. 19 of 1994. The Restaurants and Catering Services 1 ANTIGUA
Tax Act, 1994. AND

BARBUDA

I Assent,

James B. Carlisle,
Governor-General.

loth November, 1994.

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

No. 19 of 1994.

AN ACT to impose a tax on the sale of food and beverages in
restaurants and in catering establishments and to make provi-
sion for other matters incidental thereto.

[ 24th November, 1994. ]

ENACTED by the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda as
follows-

1. This Act may be cited as the Restaurants and Catering Short title
Services Tax Act, 1994.

2. In this Act- Interpretation.

. "Coatmissioner" means the Commissioner appointed un-
der section 2 of the Inland Revenue Administration Act,
1976 (No. 23 of 1976) or any other person duly authorised
to act on his behalf;

"catering establishment" includes any establishment that
prepares meals and refreshments for sale and consumption
off the premises;

"Property" has the same meaning assigned by section 2 of
the Property Tax Act, (No. 2 of 1986) 1986;

ANTIGUA 2 m e Restaurants and Catering Services No. 19 of 1994.
AND Tax Act, 1994.

BARBUDA

"restaurant" includes an establishment where meals are
SUM for consumption onor off the premises;

"meals" include beverages;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for Finance;

"proprietor" means the owner of a restaurant or a catering
establishment or where the owner is absent from Antigua
and Barbuda or is a body corporate, the person for the time
being responsible for the management of the restaurant or
the catering establishment.

Impos~tion of tax. 3. (1) Subject to this Act, there shall be charged, levied and
collected a tax of scven percenturn of the cost of meals sold at or
ordered from a restaurant or a catering establishment.

(2) The Cabinet may from time to time by order-

(a) amend the rate of tax;

(b) exempt any restaurant or catering establishment
from the provisions of this Act.

(3) Any Order made under this section shall cease to have
effect unless the Order is confirmed by a resolution agreed to by
the House within the next twenty-one days after the commence-
ment of the Order.

Collection of tax. 4. (1) Tbe proprietor of every restaurant or catering establish-
ment shall collect the tax and account for it in such manner as the
Commissioner may from time to time prescribe.

(2) The tax due under this Act shall be paid weekly to the
Commissioner on such day in each week as the Commissioner
may, from time to time direct, together with areturn in such form
as may be specified by the Commissioner.

(3) Directions given by the Commissioner pursuant to subsec-
tions (1) and (2) shall be in writing under his hand, and shall be
served on the proprietor.

(4) Where any instalment of tax is not paid within seven days
from the day on which it becomes due and payable, default shall
be deemed to have been made in the payment thereof.

NO. 19 of 1994. The Restaurants and Catering Services 3 ANTIGUA
Tax Act, 1994. AND

BARBUDA

5. (1) Every proprietor shall keep and maintain arecord of al l Proprietor to keep
food and of all'beverages and of sales of such foods and beverages record.
that are served for payment in such form and containing such
information as will enable the tax payable under this Act to be
determined.

(2) The Commissioner or any person authorised by him in
writing has power at all reasonable hours to enter any restaurant
or catering establishment and to require the production to him by
the proprietor or his agent or servant of such documents or records
as he may reasonably require in order to ascertain the amount of
tax due.

(3) Any person who-

(a) fails to keep and maintain such recordas provided for
in subsection (1); or

(b) refuses to produce any document or records required
by the Commissioner or any person authorised by
him for the purposes of ascertaining the amount of tax
due;

is guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of ten
thousand dollars or to imprisonment for five years.

6. Any person who fails to pay the tax before it is deemed to Penalty and
be in default under section 4(4) shall- interest.

(a) in addition to the tax, pay to the Commissioner a
penalty equal to twenty percentum of the amount
which was not paid; and

(b) in addition to the tax and penalty imposed by para-
graph (a), pay to the Commissioner an amount as
interest at the rate of two percentum per month
calculated for each week during which any amount
of tax remained unpaid on the amount of tax that was
due and unpaid at any time in the week.

7. (1) Where a period of thirty days has elapsed after default Withdrawal or
under section 4 (4) has occured and the proprietor has made no revocation of
payment in satisfaction of the tax in arrear together with the licence.

penalty and interest, the Minister may on the advice of the
Commissioner, withdraw or revoke the licence which the restau-
rant or the catering establishment carries on business.

ANTIGUA 4 The Restaurants and Catering Services No. 19 of 1994.
AND Tax Act, 1994.

BARBUDA

Power to distrain. 8. (1) Where the Minister withdraws or revokes a licence under
section 7, the Commissioner may authorise the seizure and sale
of any goods, chattels, property or other effect found on the
premises which are used by the proprietor in connection with the
operation of the restaurant or the catering establishment.

(2) The authority to seize and sell under this section shall be
in the prescribed form, and such authority shall be sufficient
warrant and authority to levy the amount of tax unpaid and in
arrear, together with any penalty and interest due under section
6 in respect of the tax in arrear.

(3) For the purpose of the seizure and sale of any goods,
chattels, property or other effects found on the premises where the
restaurant or catering establishment is operated, any person may,
if expressly authorised in writing by the Commissioner, execute
any warrant of distress, and if necessary break open any building
in the day -time for the purpose of levying distress, and he may call
to his assistance any police officer, when so required, to aid and
assist in the execution of any warrant of distress and in levying the
distress.

(4) For the purposes of this section distress includes making
distress on money, bonds, bills or other security belonging to the
defaulter against whom such distress is made and to sell and
dispose of the same under the provisions of this Act and where it
is necessary to vest the power in a purchaser, the Commissioner
may assign or endorse such security without incurring any
liability on his part for so doing.

(5) No misdescription of error in the name of any proprietor in
any way inv

ali

dates a warrant issued under this section on any
distress levied under the authority thereof.

Application. 9. This Act does not apply in respect of the sale of meals
NO. 14 of 1962 supplied by a hotel or guest house as defined by the Hotel Tax Act

where the sale of such food and beverage are subject to hotel tax
under that Act.

Offences and 10. (1) Any proprietor who -
penalty.

(a) fails to account for, or to pay the taxdue in the manner
prescribed by the Commissioner;

(b) knowingly furnished areturn required under section
4(1) that is false in any material particular;

NO. 19 of 1994. The Restaurants and Catering Services 5 ANTIGUA
Tax Act, 1994. AND

BARBUDA

(c) carries on business after his licence has been with-
drawn or revoked,

is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a
fine of five thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term of two
years.

(2) Any person who wilfully obstructs or hinders the
Commissioner or any person authorised by him in th performance
of his duty or the exercise of his authority under this Act is guilty
of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of ten
thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term of five years.

(3) where any offence is commiltted by a body corporate, any
person who at the time of the commission of the offence was a
director, manager, seretary or other similar officer of the body
corporate, or purported to act in any such capacity, is deemed
tohave committed that offence, unless he proves that the contra-
vention was committed without his consent or connivance and
that he exercised all such diligence to prevent the commission of
the offence as he ought to have exercised having regard to the
nature of his functions in that capacity and to all the circum-
stances.

11. The h4inister may make regulation for prescribing any- Regulations.
thing that is required to be prescribed under this Act or for the
better carrying out of the provisions of this Act.

Passed the House of Representatives Passed the Senate this 1 lth
this 19th day of September, 1994. day of October, 1994.

B. Harris,
Speaker.

M. Percival,
President.

S. Walker, S. Walker,
Acting Clerk to the House of Representatives. Acting Clerk to the Senate.

Printed at the Government Printing Office, Antigua and Barbuda
by Rupert Charity, Government Printer

-By Authority, 1994.
800-1 1.94 [Price $2.601