CONGO – New Law Governing Cash Payments

The 2016 finance law through article 461 sets out new measures of safeguarding tax income, by fixing the following principle:

” The taxes and rights enacted in tax code are exclusively paid by bank transfer at the benefit of the public treasury.

Exceptionally, small and very small companies as well as the individuals are authorized to make the payment of the taxes and the rights in cash or by check for a maximum amount of hundred thousand (100 000) FCFA “.

This new regulation indeed comes to strengthen finance law for the year 2013 n°41-2012 of December 29th, 2012, which aimed at banking the financial transactions and by extension payment of the taxes duties.

This law among which only the threshold and the mode of payment in cash have been amended contains provisions such as:

• No deductibility for the taxable profit of the spending paid in cash of more than 500 000 FCFA (article 113 of the CGI, volume 1)
• No deduction or no refund of VAT paid in cash on any invoice whose the amount is equal or higher than 500 000 FCFA (articles 21 and 36 of the law VAT).

These laws also aim at:

• Safeguarding tax income with eventually the objective of “NO CASH”
• Supplying directly and quickly of the current account of the paymaster general by avoiding at the most checks, even certified, and cash.