The Ministry of Finance has announced a three-month one-time opportunity for individuals, companies, and organizations to voluntarily disclose any tax liabilities for the period from January to December 2023, effective from March 22, 2024. Customs duties are excluded from this disclosure for this period.

Under the Law on tax procedures, taxpayers who voluntarily disclose to the Tax Administration and pay due taxes, which they hadn’t paid before being notified of an imminent audit, are eligible for a waiver of interests for late payment and penalties. The ministerial order determining the modalities and conditions to benefit from voluntary disclosure incentives was approved during the Cabinet meeting of February 27, 2024. The Minister may open a voluntary disclosure period for registered taxpayers.

In a communique signed on Thursday, March 21, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana, announced a one-time, time-limited opportunity to enhance overall tax compliance in Rwanda. Individuals, companies, and organizations can now voluntarily disclose any tax liability, excluding customs duties, for the periods prior to January to December 2023.

The Voluntary Tax Disclosure applies to all tax types except customs duties and runs with effect from March 22nd, 2024, to June 22nd, 2024. Taxpayers are expected to disclose all material facts regarding the taxes not paid. They will be granted relief of automatic waiver of penalties and interests for late payment."

Taxpayers can voluntarily disclose their tax liabilities and apply for incentives via the RRA website (https://etax.rra.gov.rw/landingPage).

RRA Commissioner General Bizimana Ruganintwali Pascal recently stated that as Rwanda signs agreements with various countries for the elimination of double taxation, discussions have been held on the exchange of information for tax purposes. This ensures that everyone engaged in profitable activities can be taxed appropriately. This exchange of information occurs through forums such as the Global Forum.

"We can now write to other countries requesting information about a certain taxpayer who is in Rwanda regarding their tax accounts. Many countries have responded positively, and we use this information to tax them according to the agreements we have. That's why we are giving those people a chance to disclose themselves and pay the taxes they didn't declare," he stated.

"Even before the current law was in effect, we have had people voluntarily disclosing themselves and coming forward to pay taxes according to agreements, without penalties. In the past two years, we have received about 4 billion Frw from three taxpayers," he added.

A taxpayer granted the voluntary disclosure incentives must pay the total amount of disclosed principal tax within 30 days of receiving the approval notification. The taxpayer may be allowed to pay in installments of his or her choice within six months from the date of approval of the application, if the taxpayer presents valid reasons..

The Tax Administration revokes the voluntary disclosure incentives if the taxpayer fails to pay the tax disclosed voluntarily, fails to respect the granted payment plan, or submits false or incomplete information that leads to the payment of understated tax.