Angola Tax Compliance: AGT Launches Relief Measures

The Angolan General Tax Administration (AGT) held a high-level working meeting with key business and professional associations to openly examine the main difficulties faced by taxable persons and their advisors, provide clarifications, and agree on corrective measures to be implemented in the short and medium term.

Key Issues and Agreed Measures

One of the biggest issues highlighted by the AGT’s Chairman, José Leiria, was the high level of non-compliance among registered businesses. From a share number perspective, out of 376,754 companies in the system, 272,768, or around 72%, had neither filed tax returns nor paid taxes over the previous 12 months. To address this issue, the AGT notified taxable persons, urging them to regularize their situation. Those who failed to do so became subject to the gradual suspension of their tax identification numbers from January.

Another notable matter addressed during the meeting was the rollout of e-invoicing, which raised operational challenges for both taxable persons and the Tax Administration. The Chairman assured that the AGT is actively working with businesses and software providers to resolve technical and practical issues as they arise. Despite these issues, the adoption has been stronger than expected, with 28,949 taxable persons voluntarily joining the system.

What is most important is that the meeting resulted in a broad set of agreed measures aimed at both immediate relief and structural improvement. One of the most significant outcomes is that, within 30 days, the suspension of tax identification numbers will be lifted automatically once the taxable person’s accountant corrects the underlying irregularities. 

The AGT will also refrain from imposing new suspensions and will provide dedicated support to those seeking to regularize their status. Other measures relating to audits and disputes, improvements to the VAT refund system, and penalty reliefs for taxable persons facing difficulties with e-invoicing were all discussed during the meeting and later publicly published.

Conclusion

The overall impression is that AGT addressed some of the burning issues that taxable persons were facing. The result is a balanced approach that combines several immediate fixes with more structural improvements needed to complete the reform and modernization of tax administration. Moreover, the AGT showed a willingness to listen to those most affected by these issues and to collaborate with taxable persons and professionals to reduce compliance burdens, address technical shortcomings, and improve the efficiency of key tax processes.

Source: Angolan General Tax Administration