(DTIS) Update, Volume 1 – Main report - Enhanced Integrated ...

this, the Government has elaborated several strategies in 2011, including a strategy for the mining andenergy sector and a 10-year national tourism strategy (see Chapter 7 on tourism). This could help attractFDI in Burundi and contribute to export diversification in both goods services in the future. Moreover, astrategy for the development of the private sector is currently being finalized.2.3 Despite improvements in Burundi’s business environment, significant challenges remainBurundi has undertaken a number of legislative and regulatory reforms since 2004. Such reformshave focused on developing several legislative instruments, such as a new Customs Code and a newInvestment Code, as well as on improving the tax system (see Box 1.4 for details regarding thesereforms).Box 1.4: Legislative and regulatory reforms affecting trade and investmentThe agenda to reform the laws and regulations affecting trade and investment has acceleratedsince the first DTIS, under the influence of regional integration and accession to the EAC. Severalimportant legal texts have been updated in recent years, notably with support from the PAGE project:- a new Customs Code (2007) aims to modernize customs (adoption of a transaction value method forcustoms valuation, creation of a transit regime, computerization of procedures, etc.). The application ofthe measures featured in the new code has been mixed to date, and the UNCTAD noted in 2010 thepersistence of opaque customs valuation practices 27 and the absence in practice of a risk-basedverification system (UNCTAD 2010). Moreover, this new code has not been accompanied by asimplification of customs procedures, which remain particularly cumbersome, even by regionalstandards 28 ;- a new Investment Code (in force since January 2009) 29 aims to create a unified regime for investments(instead of four different regimes that were previously in place). It also liberalizes the entry of FDI inmost sectors of the economy and strengthens the guarantees for foreign investors (UNCTAD 2010).While the effective openness of the investment regime has long been limited in practice by the existenceof State monopolies in numerous sectors, this began to change in recent years with the on-goingprivatization program.Other legislative instruments recently passed to modernize the regulatory environment and harmonizeBurundi’s legal regime with that of the EAC include: the new Code of Commerce (2010), the country’sfirst Competition Law (2010) 30 , the new Land Code (2011), and the new Code of Private and Public-Participation Companies (2011) 31 . Furthermore, a revision of the mining code is underway, which ismeant to prepare the country for potential large-scale (foreign) investments and clarify the role ofartisanal mining.27 The revenue authority OBR reaffirmed in 2010 that customs valuation must be made according to the WTOAgreement on Customs Valuation , in agreement with the 2007 Customs Code and the EAC Customs ManagementAct . However, the extent to which this disposition is effectively applied remains unclear.(www.obr.bi/images/stories/download/Déterminations%20de%20la%20valeur%20en%20douanes.pdf)28 In Doing Business 2012, Burundi ranks 174 th out of 183 countries on the “Trading Across Borders” indicator.The procedures to export/import a container take 35/54 days in Burundi, compared to 26/24 in Kenya, 29/31 inRwanda, 18/24 in Tanzania and 37/34 in Uganda. According to Doing Business, while the time required toexport/import has decreased since 2008, the cost has increased, and the number of documents required hasremained stable.29 Loi n°1/24 du 10 septembre 2008 portant Code des Investissements du Burundi30 Loi n°1/06 du 25 mars 2010 portant Régime Juridique de la Concurrence31 Loi n° 1/09 du 30 mai 2011 portant Code des Sociétés Privées et à Participation Publique31 / 153