Haiti: Information appearing on the fiscal identity card prior to 2005, and on the registration card since 2005; the position and meaning of this information, including the meaning of the digits in the identity number
Fiscal identity card prior to 2005
In a 7 January 2008 report sent to the Research Directorate on 26 August 2010, a migration integrity officer from the Embassy of Canada in Port-au-Prince indicated that the fiscal identity card (carte d'identité fiscale) was created in 1987 by the Tax Branch (Direction générale des impôts, DGI), which assigned a fiscal registration number (numéro d'immatriculation fiscale, NIF) to all Haitian citizens and foreigners required to pay tax in Haiti (Canada 7 Jan. 2008). The fiscal identity card included a digitized signature and photo, as well as a few security features, including a bar code (Canada 7 Jan. 2008).
Fiscal registration after 2005
A 13 December 2007 article published by AlterPresse, a press agency based in Port-au-Prince, indicates that according to the Director of the National Identification Office (Office national d'identification, ONI), a government agency that has issued the national identification card (carte d'identification nationale, CIN) (Haiti n.d.) since its creation in 2005, the Tax Branch [translation]"is no longer issuing the fiscal identity card." In its place, the Tax Branch is issuing a document called the "fiscal registration" ("matricule fiscal") , which [translation] "includes both the fiscal identity card and national identity card numbers" (AlterPresse 13 Dec. 2007). According to Article 10 of the decree on fiscal identification, adopted on 29 September 2005 by the government of Haiti, the "matricule fiscal" is a card that contains the following information:
[Translation]
- For an individual:
The fiscal registration number (NIF); the full name, the maiden name for a married woman; the gender; the date and place of birth; the address; the signature or fingerprints, and the nationality.
- For a corporation:
The fiscal registration number (NIF); the corporate name, the legal form, the date of publication in the Official Journal (Journal Officiel) of the authorization to operate, or the date of creation of the business or corporation if publication in the Official Journal of the authorization to operate is not required by law; the full name of the manager, agent or representative.
- For a sole proprietorship:
The fiscal registration number (NIF); the owner's full name; the trade name of the business, if it is different from the owner's name.
In all cases, the card also bears the date and the place of issue, the registration number, as well the card holder's signature or fingerprints (Haiti 29 Sept. 2005, Art. 10).
In his 7 January 2008 report, the Migration Integrity Officer indicated that the NIF appears on a photoless card and is made up of 10 digits, the last of which is used to verify the card's integrity (Canada 7 Jan. 2008). No information on the meaning of the other digits that make up the NIF could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
AlterPresse [Port-au-Prince]. 13 December 2007. Vario Serant. "Haïti : importance de la carte d'identification nationale." <http:www.alterpresse.org/spip.php?article6758> [Accessed 8 Sept. 2010]
Canada. 7 January 2008. Canadian Embassy in Port-au-Prince. Jean-François David. "Haiti - National Identity Card." Migration Integrity Unit Bulletin n°002-0108. Report sent to the Research Directorate by an official.
Haiti. 29 September 2005. Décret relatif à la carte d'identification fiscale. <http://www.crijhaiti.com/pdfs/identification_fiscale.pdf> [Accessed 8 Sept. 2010]
_____. N.d. "ONI." <http:www.oni.gouv.ht/index.html> [Accessed 9 Sept. 2010]
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: Attempts to contact the Direction générale des impôts (DGI) and the offices of the National Archives in Port-au-Prince were unsuccessful.
Internet sites, including: Afrik.com, AllAfrica.com, Education International (EI), InfoSud Belgique (InfoSud), Keesing Reference Systems, Migrants outre-mer (MOM), Minority Rights Group International (MRG), Le Nouvelliste [Port-au-Prince], Office of the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Organisation internationale de la francophonie (OIF), Panapress (PANA), Radio France internationale (RFI), Réseau des médias francophones (MEDIAF), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), UN Development Programme (UNDP), United States-Bureau of Consular Affairs.