Ethiopia uses technology to tackle misinvoicing

Addis Ababa, January 3, 2016 (FBC) – The Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA) has installed a new system to tackle trade misinvoicing.
The authority has installed a new Customs database that is linked to global price makers; the database updates itself automatically, Sisay Baharu, Director of Planning and Performance Follow-up at ERCA said.

He said this would help detect cases where importers underdeclare the value of goods in order to reduce their tax assessments.

“We are also identifying the major importers in the country for close follow-up by our intelligence unit. We also have a plan to pay up to 10 per cent of the recovered tax money to members of the public who inform us of tax fraud,” said Sisay.

The Global Financial Intelligence (GFI) report for 2015, released last month, shows that Ethiopia loses $1.97 billion annually through trade misinvoicing.

Ethiopia’s tax to GDP ratio stands at 13 per cent, compared with 15 per cent for sub-Saharan Africa.