The Ministry of Economy and Finance has extended the tax registration deadline to December 31, for associations and NGOs operating in the Kingdom, according to a press release seen by The Post on Tuesday.

The ministry noted that while a large number of associations and NGOs have fulfilled their obligations, some have failed to even register with the tax authorities.

The ministry initially set March 31 as the last day for tax registration, but the deadline was met with complaints of late notification.

In late March, the Cooperation Committee for Cambodia (CCC) requested a postponement of the deadline due to the ministry’s “late” issuance of an ultimatum, while others said the short notice made it difficult for them to comply.

The Post could not reach representatives of the General Department of Taxation for comment on Tuesday.

Chhim Kan, the director of the Ministry of Interior’s Department of Associations and Political Parties, said over 5,000 associations and NGOs have so far registered and filed official documentation with the ministry.

However, he said only some 2,000 of the registered associations and NGOs had submitted their annual reports to the ministry.

Kam said he did not have the figures for associations and NGOs that had registered with the General Department of Taxation.

Yoeurng Sotheara, the Coalition Building, Advocacy and Networking programme manager at the CCC, said most of its 200 partner organisations had completed their tax registration.

Their tax payments, he said, included salary, property and vehicle taxes, among others.

Sotheara said NGOs are also required to declare their annual incomes and must submit a formal request to be exempted from an annual tax payment of one per cent.

“Now most NGOs have a good understanding of tax issues. But some have refrained from fulfilling their tax registration obligation out of fear that they would be required to pay penalties for not paying any taxes since the opening of their organisation,” he said.

Sotheara took issue with the official figure for registered associations and NGOs, which he said was claimed to be about 5,000.

The actual number, he said, is far lower and that only over 1,000 associations and NGOs operated in the Kingdom.

He attributed the “inflated” number to registered associations and NGOs that have ceased functioning without informing the Ministry of Interior.

Sotheara called on the ministry to update the list of registered civil society organisations before submitting it to the General Department of Taxation to determine the total number of NGOs that need to fulfil their tax obligations.

“We are helping to update the list of NGOs to find out which ones are active and which ones have stopped functioning,” he said.