BAHAMAS Law and Practice Contributed by: Alistair Chisnall and Erica Paine, Graham Thompson
7.2 Assigning Responsibility for the Design and Construction of a Project In The Bahamas there is an absence of legisla - tion specific to construction contract or project pricing, construction project management or construction contract scheduling, and for that reason most parties entering into construc - tion agreements and projects will rely upon the advice and representation of professionals (such as attorneys, quantity surveyors, project man - agers and construction consultants) to ensure that their interests are contractually protected through a construction project and process. 7.3 Management of Construction Risk No information has been provided concerning devices used to manage construction risk in The Bahamas. 7.4 Management of Schedule-Related Risk No details have been provided regarding sched - ule-related risk management within construction projects in The Bahamas. 7.5 Additional Forms of Security to Guarantee a Contractor’s Performance It is possible, albeit rare, for owners to require formal guarantees or other additional forms of security as surety for a contractor’s performance on a project. Such matters predominantly arise in the case of pre-construction condominiums, particularly those being developed by a devel - oper/owner that is also the construction com - pany or directly affiliated with it. In such projects, letters of credit or performance bonds from a financial institution are generally relied upon, rather than other forms of security.
7.6 Liens or Encumbrances in the Event of Non-Payment Under Bahamian law, contractors and/or design - ers are not permitted to lien or otherwise encum - ber a property in the event of non-payment. A contractor seeking to recover payment of a debt due would be required to enforce their contrac - tual rights by commencing an action against the owner/customer in the Supreme Court of The Bahamas (or such other jurisdiction contractu - ally agreed between the parties to be the appro - priate forum for disputes) and obtaining a judg - ment against that debtor party. 7.7 Requirements Before Use or Inhabitation Before use or inhabitation, a Certificate of Occu - pancy must be issued under the Building Regu - lations Act, 1971. The certificate is issued by the building control officer upon being satisfied that a building operation has been completed in accordance with the building permit issued by the Ministry of Works, and it certifies that the building is fit for occupation and use. As noted in 2.10 Taxes Applicable to a Transac- tion , all sales and transfers of land between third parties, whether direct or indirect, attract VAT payable to the Public Treasury under the VAT Act, except for certain, specifically exempted transactions. In a typical sale and purchase transaction, it is customary for a buyer and seller to agree to share the payment of the applicable tax equally, but this is a business decision for the parties and is not required by law. In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, the liability under the 8. Tax 8.1 VAT and Sales Tax
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