11 million TINs registered, most yet to be issued: IRD

 The number of Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) registrations at the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has reached 11 million, but most of the TINs have not been issued to the respective individuals.

A senior official from the Department said that most of the TINs generated by the IRD were not sent to the account holders because the provided addresses were inaccurate, and many lacked valid email addresses or contact numbers.

The submission of information for TIN registration was made compulsory last year, but there was no satisfactory response from the public. 

As a result, the IRD decided to generate TINs based on the information it had received.

If an account holder's address is correct, the IRD will post the TIN directly to that address without requiring them to visit the IRD. 

The IRD system has been developed to notify account holders of their TIN details, but it still requires accurate personal information, which has not been fully provided.

Due to the uniqueness of the National Identity Card (NIC) number, the system has already generated TINs for most individuals over 18 years of age, but these have not been issued because of the lack of correct addresses and contact details.

People who do not currently pay taxes have started visiting IRD provincial offices, financial institutions, and the IRD head office to obtain their TINs. 

Most of them have done so following the government’s decision to increase the withholding tax rate from 5% to 10%, effective from April 1.

The senior official told that the public has been urged to visit the official IRD website to obtain their TINs without physically coming to the department. 

The website contains comprehensive information to assist with this process.