Some facts about GST-Belize

FIRST SCHEDULE
ZERO-RATING: EXPORTED GOODS
(1) The following taxable supplies of goods are zero-rated supplies for the purposes of this Act 
1. A supply of goods, if the supplier has entered the goods for export under the Customs and Excise Duties Act and the goods have been exported.
2. A supply of goods, if the Commissioner is satisfied that the goods have been exported from Belize by the supplier.
3. A supply of goods, if 
(a) the goods are supplied in Belize to a non-resident recipient who is not a taxable person, or to the agent of that recipient;
(b) the supplier has sufficient documentary evidence to establish that the recipient or agent entered the goods for export under the Customs and Excise Duties Act; and
(c) the goods were exported without being altered or used in any way between the time they were delivered or made available to the recipient and the time they were exported, except to the extent, if any, necessary to prepare them for export.
4. A supply of goods to a commercial free zone under the Free Zones Act or within an export processing zone under the Export Processing Zone Act.
5. A supply of aircraft’s stores or ship’s stores, or of spare parts for an aircraft or ship, if the stores or parts are for use, consumption, or sale on the aircraft or ship during a international flight or voyage.
6. A supply of goods in the course of repairing, maintaining, cleaning, renovating, modifying, treating, or otherwise physically affecting other goods referred to in items 3, 4, or 5 in paragraph (1) of the Second Schedule, if the goods supplied are:
(a) attached to or become part of those other goods; or
(b) become unusable or worthless as a direct result of being used to repair, renovate, modify or treat the other goods.
7. A supply of goods if the goods are located outside Belize at the time of supply and will not be imported into Belize by the supplier.
8. A supply of real property located outside Belize.
(2) A supply of goods is not zero-rated under paragraph (1) if the goods have been or will be re-imported into Belize by the supplier.
(Sections 2 and 9)
SECOND SCHEDULE
ZERO-RATING: EXPORTED SERVICES
(1) The following taxable supplies are zero-rated supplies for the purposes of this Act 
SERVICES CONNECTED WITH EXPORTED GOODS
1. A supply of services directly in connection with land, or improvements to land, situated outside Belize.
2. A supply of services directly in connection with goods situated outside Belize at the time the services are performed.
3. A supply of services directly in connection with goods temporarily imported into Belize under the special regime for temporary imports specified in the Customs and Excise Duties Act, but only to the extent that the services are consumed outside Belize;
4. A supply of services directly in connection with a container temporarily imported under the special regime for temporary imports specified in the Customs & Excise Duties Act.
5. A supply of the services of repairing, maintaining, cleaning, renovating, modifying, or treating an aircraft or ship engaged in international transport.
6. A supply of services that
(i) consist of the handling, pilotage, salvage, or towage of a ship or aircraft engaged in international transport; or
(ii) are provided directly in connection with the operation or management of a ship or aircraft engaged in international transport.
7. A supply of services directly in connection with a supply referred to in item 1, 2, 5, or 6 in paragraph (1) of the First Schedule, or item 5 or 6 of this paragraph, including a supply that consists of arranging for, or is ancillary or incidental to, such supply.
8. A supply of services to a non-resident who is not a taxable person, if the supply is directly in connection with a supply referred to in item 3 in paragraph (1) of the First Schedule, or items 1, 2, or 3 of this paragraph, including a supply that consists of arranging for, or is ancillary or incidental to, such supply.
SERVICES CONSUMED OUTSIDE BELIZE
9. A supply of services that are physically performed outside Belize, if the services are of a kind that are effectively used or enjoyed at the time and place where they are performed.
10. A supply of services to a non-resident person who is outside Belize at the time the services are supplied, other than a supply of services
(i) directly in connection with land, or improvements to land, situated in Belize;
(ii) directly in connection with goods situated in Belize at the time the services are performed;
(iii) that consist of refraining from or tolerating an activity, a situation, or the doing of an act in Belize, if the restraint or toleration is effectively used or enjoyed in Belize.
11. A supply of services that consist of
(i) the filing, prosecution, granting, maintenance, transfer, assignment, licensing, or enforcement of intellectual property rights for use outside Belize;
(ii) incidental services necessary for the supply of services referred to in sub-paragraph (i); or
(iii) the acceptance by a person of an obligation to refrain from pursuing or exercising, in whole or part, intellectual property rights for use outside Belize.
12. A supply of telecommunications services by a resident telecommunications supplier to a non-resident telecommunications supplier, to the extent that the supply is for the use or consumption of a person outside Belize at the time the services are performed.
13. A supply of telecommunications services that are provided to a person, other than a telecommunications carrier, if the telecommunications service is initiated outside Belize.
(3) A supply of services is not zero-rated under item 10, 12, or 13 in paragraph (1) if the supply is a supply of a right or option to receive a supply of goods or services in Belize, unless the supply to be received would be zero-rated if it were made in Belize.
(4) Without limiting paragraph (3), a supply of services is not zero-rated under item 10, 12, or 13 in paragraph (1) if the services are supplied under an agreement that is entered into, whether directly or indirectly, with a person who is a non-resident, if 
(a) the performance of the services is, or it is reasonably foreseeable at the time the agreement is entered into that the performance of the services will be, received in Belize by another person, and
(b) it is reasonably foreseeable, at the time the agreement is entered into, that the other person will not be a taxable person when it receives the performance of the services,
and for the avoidance of doubt, if the supply is a supply of a right or option to receive services, the performance of the services referred to in this paragraph is the performance of the services to be received, rather than the granting of the right or option.
(Sections 2 and 9)
THIRD SCHEDULE
ZERO-RATING: OTHER SUPPLIES AND IMPORTS
(1) In this schedule-
“unprocessed,” in relation to food, means that the food contains no additives, other than vitamins or minerals, and has not been subjected to a process or treatment other than pasteurizing, freezing, chilling, or packaging, a mechanical process, or a process that solely employs the elements of weather.
(2) Subject to the regulations, a taxable supply or taxable import is zero-rated for the purposes of this Act if it is a supply or import of one of the following items
FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION
1. Unprocessed food for human consumption if the food of a kind itemised in the following table:
Item Description
1 Rice
2 Flour
3 Bread
4 Corn
5 Fresh Meat from any mammal, bird, or fish
6 Eggs
7 Beans
8 Sugar
9 Tortilla
10 Fresh Milk
11 Fresh fruits and vegetables (locally produced)
12. Salt
13. Cooking lard
14. Baby formula
15. Margarine
2. Any live bird, fish, crustacean, mollusc or other animal of a kind generally used as, or producing, food for human consumption.

SUPPLIES CONNECTED WITH AGRICULTURE
3. Animal feeding stuff suitable for any live bird, fish, crustacean, mollusc or other animal of a kind generally used as, or producing, food for human consumption or for any draught animal.
4. Seeds and other means of propagation of plants that are used for providing either food listed in item 1 or a feeding stuff referred to in item 3.
5. Preparations formulated for agricultural use, namely, fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides.
6. Crop dusting services.
SUPPLIES CONNECTED WITH EDUCATION
7. Textbooks, school work books, or other educational texts in question-and-answer format with spaces for insertion of answers, children’s picture or painting books, or exercise books;
8. Equipment or furniture for the use of an Educational Institution within the meaning of the Education Act, provided that the supplier holds a Statutory Declaration from the Institution stating that the goods will be used only in the course of providing goods or services that are exempt under item 7 in paragraph (2) of the Fourth Schedule.
MEDICINES AND MEDICAL SUPPLIES FOR HUMAN USE
9. Analgesics in the form of liquids, tablets, capsules, or other solid dosage forms for oral or rectal use;
10. Cough and cold preparations in the form of liquid, tablets, capsules or other solid dosage forms for oral or nasal use;
11. Diagnostic-testing kits and devices for testing glucose in blood and urine;
12. Insulin and insulin syringes with needles and devices of a type not exceeding 100 units (1.0ML) capacity, for the administration of U-100 insulin;
13. Oral rehydration preparations in the form of salts or solutions of W.H.O./Paramacopoeia standards;
14. Dialysis fluids.
(Section 2 and 15)
FOURTH SCHEDULE
EXEMPT SUPPLIES
(1) In this schedule-
“new residential premises” means residential premises that -
(a) have not previously been sold as residential premises or been the subject of a long-term lease;
(b) have been created by the substantial renovation of a building; or
(c) have replaced demolished premises on the same land;
“residential premises” means land or a building occupied or capable of being occupied as a residence, but not including hotel or holiday accommodation.
(2) The following supplies are exempt for the purposes of this Act -
FINANCIAL SERVICES AND OTHER INTERMEDIATION SERVICES
1. A supply of the following “financial services,” except where provided in return for an explicit fee or charge-
(a) granting, negotiating, and dealing with loans, credit, credit guarantees, and security for money, including management of loans, credit, or credit guarantees by the grantor;
(b) transactions concerning money, deposit and current accounts, payments, transfers, debts, cheques, or negotiable instruments, other than debt collection and factoring;
(c) transactions relating to financial derivatives, forward contracts, options to acquire financial instruments, and similar arrangements;
(d) transactions relating to shares, stocks, bonds, and other securities, other than custody services;
(e) management of investment funds;
(f) provision, or transfer of ownership, of an insurance contract or the provision of reinsurance in respect of such contract;
(g) provision, or transfer of ownership, of an interest in a scheme whereby provision is made for the payment or granting of benefits by a benefit fund, provident fund, pension fund, retirement annuity fund or preservation fund;
(h) a supply of credit under a finance lease, if the credit for the goods is provided for a separate charge and the charge is disclosed to the recipient of the goods; or
(i) the arranging of any of the services in paragraphs (a) to (h).
2. A gambling supply, but only if
(i) the supply is of a ticket in Boledo or Jackpot Lottery; or
(ii) the supply is of a ticket in a lottery where the total winnings are less than one thousand five hundred dollars.
RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY
3. A sale of real property to the extent that the property relates to residential premises other than new residential premises.
4. A supply of residential accommodation.
EDUCATION
5. A supply of goods or services by an Educational Institution within the meaning of the Education Act in the course of providing training or education to an individual, if that Institution -
(i) in the case of a private school, is registered under that Act, and
(ii) in any other case, is approved for the purposes of this item by the Minister to whom responsibility for education is assigned
6. A sale, lease, licence or other supply of the use of land, or a supply of goods and services in connection with the construction of buildings or other facilities on land, if -
(i) the supply is provided to an Education Institution within the meaning of the Education Act; and
(ii) the Minister responsible for Education has issued a notice in writing stating that he is satisfied that the land, buildings, or facilities will be used in providing supplies that are exempt under item 7 and the supplier holds an original or certified copy of that notice.
UTILITIES AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT
7. A supply of electricity to consumers who use up to $150.00 of electricity per month.
8. A supply of Public Postal Services.
9. A supply of water (other than water supplied in bottles or similar containers) or domestic sewerage services.
10. A supply of the domestic public transport of passengers on any regular scheduled flight, vehicle, or vessel if-
(a) the transport is for use by any person who pays the required fare and is not provided to a particular class of person, such as, without limitation, an employee of the supplier or a guest at a hotel or similar establishment;
(b) the supply is not provided by a tour operator or as part of a tour; and
(c) the supplier:
(i) in relation to transport supplied on a domestic flight, is licensed by the Air Transport Licensing Authority;
(ii) in relation to transport supplied in a vehicle, has been issued with a Road Service Permit by the Transport Board established under section 4 of the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act; or