The component will also reduce government expenditure in personnel and will permit the avoidance of costs that would have had to be incurred to increase the number of Tax Collection Offices. The component will also increase the efficiency and effectiveness of fiscal and trade agencies. The component will be complemented by legal and regulatory e-commerce work presently being funded by USAID under the New Economy Project. The E-Government component’s activities are described below.

Efforts to automate the operations of the fiscal agencies through the use of ICT have been relatively successful. The project will finance the necessary hardware, software and a limited amount of consulting service to permit the Fiscal Services Limited (FSL) to take a total of six additional fiscal agencies to the point where transactions with businesses and citizens could be carried out “on-line”. In order to ensure maximum use of the services, a system of consultation with customers will be established. The Project Preparation Facility (PPF) will initially fund this system.

The fiscal agencies were chosen using a matrix that included eight criteria including revenue collected, volume of transactions and periodicity. The fiscal agencies will be put on line in two stages, beginning with the agencies that scored highest in the aforementioned matrix. In the first stage, expected to be completed during year two of Project implementation, systems will be put in place to permit on-line transactions (including payment) for the General Consumption Tax (a value-added tax), the Special Consumption Tax (excise taxes), the Education Tax and for the Income Tax retained by employers from their employees (pay as you earn, or PAYE).

In the second stage, during the years three and four of Project implementation, payment for two additional taxes and fees would be put “on-line”. These are the Corporate and Self-Employment Tax and the National Insurance and payments to the HEART Trust Fund (vocational training). The Project will finance the hardware, software and training required for putting the fiscal agencies on line.

Importers and exporters must deal with a multitude of agencies. The Project will provide resources to web-enable the processes of the most critical trade agencies (JAMPRO, Customs and the Trade Board Limited). This is expected to significantly decrease the time required to process transactions. FSL will ensure that the solutions developed are compatible with possible future e-facilitation processes.