Revenue Administration in Sub-Saharan Africa - International Tax ...

Legal and administrative powers of revenue bodiesChapter VIIKey findingsGeneral powers of revenue bodies for debt collection• All the surveyed countries have sufficient (albeit rarely utilized) powers toenforce payment of tax, including the powers to:(1) engage taxpayers and agree on a reasonable payment schedule;(2) use tax clearance certificates as a means to bar debtors from undertakingbusiness activities with government agencies;(3) place a lien over debtors’ assets;(4) collect the debt from third parties that do business with the debtor; and(5) seize debtors’ assets.• About half of the revenue bodies surveyed have powers to publish the names ofdebtors, initiate bankruptcy and/or asset liquidation procedures to recover taxarrears, and restrict defaulting taxpayers from traveling overseas (especiallynon-resident debtors).• Four revenue bodies have the powers to deny debtors access to certaingovernment services.Information Gathering Powers of Revenue Bodies• The extent of powers available to revenue officials to enter and search businesspremises and taxpayers’ dwellings without a court warrant vary acrosscountries—only half of surveyed revenue bodies reported having such powers.The other half have to apply for a search warrant from the courts or otherrelevant government departments.• In a few countries, revenue officials must be accompanied by a designatedindependent official (such as a police official) when conducting a search.• All revenue bodies surveyed have sufficient powers to obtain information fromthe taxpayer and third parties for the purpose of executing tax administrationfunctions.• A number of revenue bodies have designed procedures to receive, process, anddisseminate this information.• In addition, 9 countries reported they have powers to provideincentives/rewards to informers to encourage provision of credible taxinformation.Interest and penalty regimes• Almost all revenue bodies impose either, or a combination of interest chargesand administrative penalties on non-filers, late filing, late payment of taxes,and incorrect declaration of tax liabilities across PIT, CIT and VAT, designed toinclude a combination of both fixed amounts and ad valorem rates.• Interest and penalty regimes differ for the same offence across tax-type andspecifically for CIT and PIT on one hand and those for VAT on the other.80