Andorra Unveils First Indirect Tax Revenue Figures

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

09 May 2013

Andorran Finance Minister Jordi Cinca has recently presented to the Council of Ministers a preliminary assessment of revenues collected from the country's General Indirect Tax (IGI), for the first quarter of 2013.

Andorra's General Indirect Tax Act provides for three methods of settling IGI tax payments for businesses. Companies in Andorra with a turnover in excess of EUR3.6m (USD4.7m) are required to submit their IGI payments to the tax administration on a monthly basis. Businesses with a turnover of between EUR250,000 and EUR3.6m are asked to settle their tax bills on a quarterly basis, with payments due in April, July, October and January. Smaller companies with a turnover of below EUR250,000 are required to submit their tax payments on a bi-annual basis, namely in July and January.

According to Finance Minister Cinca, monthly IGI payments totalled EUR2.389m in January, EUR2.766m in February, and EUR3.509m in March. The first quarterly tax payment of IGI reached EUR5.585m. In total, revenues derived from the levy in the first quarter of the year stood at EUR14,249m. This figure does not, however, include income from customs collections.

Although welcoming the positive IGI figures, Finance Minister Cinca nevertheless stressed the difficulty in making projections for the full year. This is due notably to the fact that most small businesses in Andorra will not submit their first payment until July, and to the fact that importations follow varying trends throughout the year, the Minister explained.