A press release that gave wrong information on the imposition of credit card service charges for payments to the Government was “an inexcusable error”, the Minister of Finance said .

Curtis Dickinson added: “Contrary to established protocols, the release was issued without my approval and without that of the minister responsible for communications. This is compounded by the fact that the release provides incorrect information to the public.”

He added that he expected that conditions of employment and the code of conduct for the public services would be “applied as necessary”.

The release, issued on Thursday, said that charges would be applied to people who used credit cards to pay taxes to government authorities such as the Transport Control Department, public works and parks, the Department of Public Transportation and some areas of healthcare. Mr Dickinson said: “In the 2019-20 Budget Statement, I referred to the fees incurred by the Government through the payment of taxes with credit cards.

“Payroll tax payments are the issue and my intention and the Government’s policy is to recover these fees by way of a recharge fee for this convenience.

“The extension of this policy to other areas where members of the public pay for permits and other government services was not authorised by me or at all.”

Mr Dickinson said the finance ministry had been affected by the release and “confusion created for the public”.