Angola: VAT & Special Consumption Tax enter into force on October 1, 2019

Angola has established the Value Added Tax (VAT) and Special Consumption Tax Codes, the implementation date of which was initially set as July 1, 2019. Following some discussion in the meeting held on June 14, 2019 between Executive Government Members and the Business Technical Group, it was agreed to postpone the date of entry into force of the VAT and Special Consumption Tax Codes.

In line with the above, the Provisional Presidential Decree No. 1/19, dated June 28, was published in the official gazette, suspending the date of entry into force and respective charge of VAT and Special Consumption Tax, pending further approval of the laws that will define the new date for its entry into force and implementation, respectively.

More recently, Law no. 17/19, dated August 13, 2019 has introduced several amendments to the Valued Added Tax Code, approved by Law no. 7/19, dated April 24, 2019.

The above-mentioned Law has defined that the date of entry into force of VAT is October 1, 2019.

In addition to the definition of the date of entry into force of VAT, the said Law has introduced other changes, such as:

1. Reduction of the VAT rate up to 3 % for companies in the Transitory VAT Regime (prior VAT rate was 7%);
2. Enlargement of the scope of VAT exemptions to health insurances, education and medical services;
3. Exclusion of taxation, under Captive VAT Regime, of certain services/operations, namely consumption of water and energy and transmission of goods by supermarkets. In addition, it was introduced the right to deduction of the Captive Tax withheld under this regime.

Additionally, VAT forms were already approved and are already available on the Min. Fin. website. The forms approved are the following:

1. Declaration of beginning of activity (which should be submitted electronically within the deadline of 30 days computed from the publication of Law no. 17/19 dated August 13, 2019), change and termination of business;
2. Periodic VAT return and its annexes;
3. Transitory Regime VAT return;
4. VAT refund form;
5. Suppliers’ table;
6. Form to request the settlement of bad debts and non-performing loans.

The Special Consumption Tax Code (Law no. 8/19 of April 24, 2019) has also suffered changes introduced by Law no. 18/19 dated August 13, 2019. Its date of entering into force is now set forth to October 1, 2019. 

The above Law has also introduced several changes, such as:

1. The increase of tax rates applicable which now may vary (between 2% and 25% – before the highest tax rate was 19%) depending on the type of product and are listed in tables (ANEXO I & ANEXO II) attached to the Special Consumption Tax Code.
2. Taxation of Motor Vehicles.
3. Taxpayers should submit, by electronic data transmission, until the last working day of each month, a declaration, in duplicate, accordingly to the official form, containing the information related to the volume of operations developed on the month prior to the tax payment.

Contact

Fátima Carreiro
Email: fatima@fcarreiroconsulting.com