Individuals leaving the country do not require tax clearance.

However, amounts of money exceeding K50,000 per person, per year, can be remitted only after a Tax Clearance Certificate has been obtained certifying that no taxes are outstanding and all tax requirements to date have been met.

If these matters are satisfactory, the clearance can sometimes be issued within 24 hours. However, in most cases, two week’s notice should be given. If money is being sent to a tax haven country, all amounts of money, irrespective of size, require tax clearance.

These countries include:

The Bahamas, Bermuda, Solomon Islands, British Channel Islands, British Virgin Islands, Cook Islands, Gibraltar, Grenda, Hong Hing, The Isles of Man, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Nauru, Netherlands Antilles, Norfolk Islands, Panama, Switzerland, Tonga, Vanuatu.

Adult residents of Papua New Guinea may remit up to the foreign currency equivalent of K500,000 to each calendar year for any purpose, subject to taxation clearance.

Certain categories of transactions do not count towards the remittance allowance. These include, for example, payments, which are trade-related involving the physical movement of goods.

Where an application to transfer funds requires tax clearance, the applicant should produce, for the benefit of the central bank, the Bank of Papua New Guinea, a tax clearance certificate in accordance with section 354C of the Income Tax Act 1959.

The applicant should apply to the IRC for the certificate. The clearance from the IRC can take the form of a certificate or a specific letter from the IRC authorizing blanket clearance.