President of the Retail Grocers Association (RGA) Philip Beneby yesterday said that supermarket preparedness for the recently introduced value-added tax (VAT) continues to be "a work in progress" as grocers adjust to the new tax regime.
Speaking with Guardian Business, Beneby said he is confident that all of the retail grocers are prepared for the tax. Many local supermarkets were closed Thursday morning as grocers worked to meet the government's VAT-inclusive pricing requirements and prepare their systems for the tax. Large retailers including supermarkets will have a transitional period lasting until February to provide the inclusive pricing.
"It's a work in progress. None of them are 100 percent perfect, but we've been engaged in the process of overnight price changing," he said.
Beneby added that he is unaware of any widespread consumer unrest following VAT's launch yesterday.
Regarding the transitional period, Beneby said that the association is "well on track" to meet pricing requirements by the end of the transitional period.
"We have to go along with the process as we understand it and if there are any changes that need to be made, then the Ministry of Finance will have to instruct us as to what must be done," he said.
The RGA had previously expressed fear that grocers would possibly have to shut down operations for weeks in order to meet the government's pricing requirements before the transitional period was announced.

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