BRA Continues Service Reforms with New Contact Centre Platform
Persons no longer need to get in line to access customer service assistance at the Barbados Revenue Authority. Last Monday, the tax administration went live with an upgraded contact centre management solution for its operations.
As part of this transition, the public should note that the phone number for the Contact Centre has changed. Persons can access the service on the new platform by dialing 429-ETAX (3829).
Carolyn Williams-Gayle, the Authority’s manager communications and PR indicated that the transition to the new Contact Centre platform is another step towards improving interactions with customers and making it easier to do business with the Authority.
“We are working to be responsive to the public’s needs and one of the main challenges which has been aired repeatedly over the years, relates to contacting the Authority. The Contact Centre is a first point of interfacing with the Authority and this new platform provides us with the capacity to handle multiple calls simultaneously and have them queued. These features will help us with managing call volume and contribute to an improved customer experience. This is the latest element in our service improvement plan for integrating electronic service options into our operations to ensure persons can manage their tax affairs with greater ease.,” she explained.
“As we continue to adjust to operating in the evolving pandemic environment, in-office visits to the Authority are either by appointment, for collection of documents within scheduled times or for over-the-counter payments. All other assistance and queries regarding refunds, filing, payments, registrations, TAMIS logins, updating information, licensing, land tax and registrations, are to be made through the Contact Centre at 429-3829 or 429-ETAX.”
Williams-Gayle also highlighted that the Authority had made a number of other operational changes to improve service in line with government’s overall public sector transformation strategy.
“Whether on our own or in-collaboration with other agencies, the Authority has been moving in the direction of implementing service options which facilitate greater convenience and self-service for users,” she shared.
“Persons can pay any income or value-added tax obligation online in TAMIS; land tax payments can be made online using the EZpay or SurePay platforms; general tax clearance applications are now done online in TAMIS; land adjudication submissions are done electronically and all driving licence renewals are done online with the EZpay platform, including those for persons over 70. Last month, we opened a portal for the submission of applications for vehicle registrations, visitor’s permits and licensing general services with payments facilitated through the SurePay network. As we continue to update the portal, we will continue to add additional service options.”