Congo-Brazzaville overhauls its VAT law for 2024: 18% general rate, 5% reduced rate and a FCFA 100 million threshold

What changed in detail

Loi n° 39-2023 du 29 décembre 2023, the finance law for 2024, was published in the Journal officiel, Édition spéciale N° 6-2023, on 29 December 2023. It rewrites the TVA law, transposing CEMAC Directive n° 11/22. It applies for the 2024 budget year, so from 1 January 2024; the text sets no separate start date.

The main rules:

• Rates (article 22(2)):
  • 18% general rate;
  • 0% for exports and international transport;
  • 5% reduced rate for listed basic consumer goods and for operators in special economic zones. The list covers milk, bakery products, rice, wheat flour, fertilisers and pesticides.
• Centimes additionnels (article 38 A): a surcharge of 5% of the TVA collected, paid to local authorities. The combined burden at the general rate is therefore 18.9%.
• Who is liable (article 5): a natural person must account for TVA once turnover reaches FCFA 100,000,000 a year. Legal persons are liable whatever their turnover.

What it means

The 18% general rate is still in force. It is the rate applied to non-resident digital services from July 2026. The 5% list, however, has changed.

Loi n° 47-2024, the finance law for 2025, rewrote article 22(2)(c) from 1 January 2025. Its new 5% list keeps milk, bakery products, rice and wheat flour, but drops fertilisers and pesticides from the 5% list. They are listed in Annexe 3 (exempt first-necessity goods) in the 2026 finance law text; check the annex for the period concerned. The same law extended the TVA exemptions and made the certified e-invoicing system (SFEC) mandatory.

When pricing goods at 5%, check them against the 2025 list, not the 2024 one.