The West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) has advocated the need for accelerated digitalization of Value Added Tax (VAT) systems across the subregion, warning that inefficiencies in current systems will continue to limit revenue mobilization for the countries’ economic growth.
The tax advocacy group made the call during a high-level regional event organized by the African Development Bank (AfDB) on Monday in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire, which featured seasoned tax administrators, policymakers, and development partners who examined reforms and best practices in VAT administration across the continent.
Contributing to a high-level panel discussion on “VAT Digitalization: Pathways, Challenges and Opportunities”, Executive Secretary of WATAF, Mr. Jules Tapsoba, stressed that digital transformation of VAT administration had now become a strategic imperative for improving compliance, reducing fraud, and enhancing efficiency in tax systems across West Africa.
The tax expert said: “Digitalization is the single most transformative lever for improving VAT performance across West Africa. Without it, we will continue to face leakages, inefficiencies, and limited compliance.”
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According to him, VAT remains one of the most significant sources of domestic revenue in many West African countries, yet structural challenges continue to constrain its full potential.
Tapsoba listed some of the challenges as including a large informal sector, weak tax culture, limited digital infrastructure, and insufficient coordination between customs and domestic tax administrations, all of which contribute to revenue leakages, delays in VAT credit reimbursements, and reduced business liquidity.
He highlighted that ongoing reforms across member-states were already demonstrating the impact of technology-driven tax systems, including the expansion of online taxpayer registration, the introduction of electronic invoicing, and the automation of tax declaration and payment processes.
However, the WATAF Executive Secretary emphasized the need for these reforms to be scaled up in a more harmonized and coordinated manner across the region.
Tapsoba further called on member-states to align national VAT frameworks with the ECOWAS Directive on VAT harmonization adopted in July 2023, with a domestication deadline of January 2027, stressing that harmonization, combined with digitalization, will be essential for facilitating a common market, ensuring fair competition, and strengthening regional economic integration.
In addition to digital transformation, the tax administrator outlined key measures to improve VAT performance, including modernizing VAT refund systems to reduce delays, strengthening audit and verification mechanisms to curb fraudulent claims, enhancing customs valuation processes, and operationalizing joint audit teams between customs and domestic tax administrations.
He also emphasized the need to build robust data systems and regional databases to support evidence-based policymaking, alongside strengthening the capacity of tax officials and promoting greater public awareness of tax compliance.
In her presentation at the forum, Chief Governance Officer at the African Development Bank (AfDB), Ms. Eline Okudzeto, spoke on the lessons from East Africa, noting that while progress has been made, challenges remain in compliance, coordination, and system integration.
To tackle the challenges, the banker emphasized the importance of cross-border VAT cooperation and reaffirmed AfDB’s role in supporting dialogue, technical capacity building, and country-level reform programmes.
Other prominent speakers at the forum, including keynote speaker Mr. Emeka Nwankwo, Head of Member Services at the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), Mr. Abou Ouattara Sié, Director General of Taxes of Côte d’Ivoire, and Mr. Darlingston Yahkor Talery, Head of the Domestic Tax Unit at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), also emphasized the critical role of VAT in domestic revenue mobilization, while outlining ongoing challenges and future prospects for strengthening VAT systems across the region.
The WATAF reaffirmed its commitment to supporting member states through technical assistance, capacity development, and knowledge sharing to drive the ongoing fiscal transition from reliance on border taxes to more efficient domestic tax systems.
It also charged governments and development partners to move from policy commitments to implementation, stressing that timely action will be critical to achieving the region’s fiscal transition goals.
