The business tax return is a self-assessment document to be completed by sole traders, partnership and companies at the end each tax year to declare and report on their taxable income for the relevant tax period, with permitted deductions and exemptions, in line with the applicable laws.
The self-assessment return places the responsibility of tax on the taxpayer to determine if it has Seychelles sourced income in a tax year.
The SRC provides a person engaged in a business three months after closure of a tax year to complete their business tax return. For example for the tax year January to December 2024, the taxpayer must ensure to submit their business tax return and payment no later than 31 March 2025 (3 months).
Following changes made to the Business Tax Act and as cited in S.I. 108 of 2024, retrospectively to the tax year 2024, small businesses operating under the business tax regime including medium and large businesses not belonging to a group, or has not entered into a controlled arrangement under Section 54 (1) of the Business Tax Act (Cap 20), shall complete the simplified business tax return form.
For businesses that are multinationals or part of a group, the Business Tax Return Form as set out in Schedule 3 of the Business Tax Act shall be completed.
This form entails the Transfer Pricing Related Party Dealing (RPD) schedule for taxpayers that has entered into a controlled arrangement under Section 54 (1) of the Business Tax Act (Cap 20) and has an annual turnover exceeding SCR1, 000, 000 including a taxpayer being a member of a multinational enterprise group whose consolidated turnover is greater than EUR 100 million.
The lodgment of the business tax return and payment of taxes for the tax year 2024 must be submitted to the SRC before 31 March, 2025. For businesses that was not in operation or trading during a tax year, a NIL Business Tax Return must still be lodged at the end of the tax year to the SRC before the mentioned deadline.
The business tax returns forms are now available in the download section of the SRC’s website at www.src.gov.sc. Alternatively taxpayers can also request for the form via email to advisory.center@src.gov.sc
The SRC is encouraging all taxpayers to lodge their returns and pay their taxes early to avoid any incurring additional charges and penalties.