No matter where you live or where your online business is based — if you have customers in Ethiopia, you gotta follow Ethiopian VAT rules. That’s what this guide is for! This guide includes everything you need to know about digital tax laws in Ethiopia, whether your customers live in Dakar or Saint Louis.
Digital Products
First, let’s confirm what you’re trying to sell in Ethiopia. Are you selling digital products?
A digital product is any product that’s stored, delivered, and used in an electronic format. These are goods or services that the customer receives via email, by downloading them from the Internet, or through logging into a website.
You’re probably consuming and using digital products all day long, whether or not you realize it. Here are some common ones on the market today:
- E-books, images, movies, and videos, whether buying a copy from Shopify or using a service like Netflix. In tax language, these products are in a category usually called, “Audio, visual, or audio-visual products.”
- Downloadable and streaming music, whether buying an MP3 or using a service like SoundCloud or Spotify. Of course, these products also fall in the audio category.
- Cloud-based software and as-a-Service products, such as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS).
- Websites, site hosting services, and internet service providers.
- Online ads and affiliate marketing. Income from these services can be considered taxable under digital tax policies.
Not sure if what you sell is considered a “digital product?” Check out our explanation of what a digital product is exactly.
Heads up: you might also hear of digital goods referred to as “digital services,” “e-goods”, or “e-services.” All of these terms refer to the same thing.
Ethiopia’s VAT for digital products
VAT is the consumption tax throughout Ethiopia, levied on almost everything sold in the country. There are specific rules around digital products, which you must follow closely to stay tax compliant.
If you sell digital products to a customer in Ethiopia, you must charge the VAT rate. Simple, right?
It’s simple in theory. But in practice, Ethiopia VAT has a bit more complexity. You don’t necessarily need to add tax to every sale. It can depend on the amount of sales you make in the country, whether the sale is B2B or B2C, and other things. We’ll go into more detail about each of these throughout the rest of the guide!
Registering for Ethiopia’s VAT
Is there a sales registration threshold?
Yes, Ethiopia has an annual sales registration threshold of 2,000,000 Birr (approximately $17,500 USD).
What does this mean exactly?
Well, the threshold amount refers to your total sales in the country, during any 12-month period. This can be a calculation of sales in the last twelve months, or a prediction of sales in the next twelve months — any rolling year-long period, past or future.
As a remote seller, if your total sales in Ethiopia remains below ETB 2,000,000, then you don’t need to worry about VAT at all. Phew!
But once your sales do surpass ETB 2,000,000, then you must register for VAT and comply with all of the Jordanian rules around tax rate and collection, invoices, and filing returns.
The registration process
So, it turns out you do need to register for tax in Ethiopia. Don’t worry! Just follow instructions from the Ethiopian tax authority on how to register for Ethiopian VAT.
Ultimately, you will receive a VAT registration number, which establishes you in the Ethiopian tax system as a legal business. This number tracks your business through the system: the taxes you pay, the tax credits you receive, plus the tax you charge from customers.
Do you need a local tax representative?
No, you don’t need a local tax representative to register for VAT in Ethiopia.
Collecting VAT in Ethiopia
If you sell B2C
Once you’re registered for taxes, you’re expected to charge 15% VAT on every sale to an Ethiopian resident.
If you sell B2B
If your customer is a fellow business, and they’ve provided a valid VAT number, then adding and collecting tax isn’t necessary! The buyer will handle tax, via Ethiopia’s reverse-charge mechanism.
VAT invoices in Ethiopia
In order to comply with tax laws, you should include the following information on your invoices to customers in Ethiopia:
- Your business’ name and address
- Your business’ VAT registration number
- Invoice date
- Invoice sequencing number
- Buyer’s name and address
- Buyer’s VAT registration number, if they have one.
- VAT (amount and rate) applied to each item
- Final amount after tax is added
- The currency used
Ethiopia law requires you to keep these invoices and other tax documents as “proper records” of your business operations, but the law does not state for how many years you must keep these on file,
The easiest solution for the VAT invoice would be to use a tax software that automatically generates and sends all invoices (as soon as the sale is complete), and also stores them in the cloud for you. Quaderno does just that, but we won’t go on about it here. :)
Filing VAT returns in Ethiopia
Charging and collecting tax is only the first half of staying compliant. The second, and equally important, half is filing returns and paying whatever you might owe to the government.
In Ethiopia, foreign businesses are expected to file tax returns on time, but the frequency depends on the size of your business. You will be assigned a filing frequency when you register. As for deadlines, you have until the last day of the month following the end of your reporting period. So your tax return for March (or Q1) will be due by April 30.
Note: At Quaderno we love providing helpful information and best practices about taxes, but we are not certified tax advisors. For further help, or if you are ever in doubt, please consult a professional tax advisor or the tax authorities.