The first steering committee meeting of 2019 with Ministry of Revenue was held on August 21, 2019 at the premises of the Headquarters of the Ministry of Revenue (MoR). This collaboration is the result of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between MoR and EUBFE back in May where both parties reierated their commitment to work together to improve tax administration. A number of agenda points were addressed at the meeting chaired by Mr. Nebeyou Samuel, advisor to the mininister. Board members of EUBFE as well as relevant directorates from MoR also took part.
Technical concerns raised and addressed at the meeting include excise tax, fringe benefit calculation, dealing with fraudulent receipts, VAT refund, application of bilateral tax treaties and more. All agenda points tabled at the meeting by EUBFE were addressed point by point.
Follow up meeting will be held to review any additional issues that may arise. Moreover, decisions passed on this meeting will also be looked into in the subsequent meetings, which are planned to take place quarterly.
Public-Private-Dialogue (PPD), the second round, was held on December 4, 2019 at the Hilton Hotel. EUBFE, as co-chair of the PPD team, worked tirelessly to collect, analyze and depict the major challenges of foreign businesses in Ethiopia. This PPD deliberated on taxation and customs concerns of foreign businesses. PPD was facilitated by the Ethiopian Investment Commission represented by Deputy Commissioners Mrs. Hanna Arayaselassie and Mr. Temesgen Tilahun , along side Mr.Zemede Teferra-State Minister Ministry of Revenue. Opening remark on the PPD was made by Mr. Ben Depraetere, board chair of EUBFE. In his remark he highlighted the preparation of PPD and appreciated the role EIC and MoR played in making it a reality. He concluded by a encouraging a more sustained dialogue of such format. Issues on taxation and customs were presented by representatives of the PPD preparation team and responded to by staff from MoR.
