Council Approves Amended Excise Tax Law

Aug 22 , 2020

The Council of Ministers in a session held yesterday, August 22, 2020, approved the amended excise tax law. The bill enables businesses to import and manufacture products that are subjected to excise tax without a business license. The Council, in its decision to amend the excise tax provision, has allowed non-registered and non-licensed individuals to engage in importing and the production of materials, as well as providing services subject to an excise tax. Dated to be effective until March 9, 2020, it was endorsed to the parliament for approval. Excise tax revenue represents about 0.73pc of the country’s GDP, much lower than the average 1.4pc of GDP in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. In the same session, the Council approved a mass media policy that was crafted hoping to bring a solution to the lack of a comprehensive policy, which has been cited as an obstacle to the improvement of the industry.