By Bassey Udo
The West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) has called for an accelerated digitalization of Value Added Tax (VAT) systems across the region to curb inefficiencies that continue to limit revenue mobilization and economic growth.
The group made the call during a high-level regional forum organized by the African Development Bank (AfDB) on Wednesday in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
The Forum, which was attended by tax administrators, policymakers, and development partners, examined the impact of reforms and best practices in VAT administration across the continent.
In his contribution to the panel discussion on the topic “VAT Digitalization: Pathways, Challenges and Opportunities,” the Executive Secretary of WATAF, Mr. Jules Tapsoba, said digital transformation of VAT administration was now a strategic imperative for improving compliance, reducing fraud, and enhancing efficiency in tax systems across West Africa.
“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,” Mr. Tapsoba said
Although he acknowledged VAT as one of the most significant sources of domestic revenue in many West African countries,Tapsoba said structural challenges have continued to constrain the realization of its full potential.
These challenges, he said, include 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 said 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, he emphasized the need for these reforms to be scaled up in a more harmonized and coordinated manner across the region to remove the inefficiencies.
Mr. 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.
He stressed that harmonization, combined with digitalization, would be essential for facilitating a common market, ensuring fair competition, and strengthening regional economic integration.
In addition to digital transformation, he 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.
Also, he 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.
The Chief Governance Officer at the African Development Bank, Ms. Eline Okudzeto, highlighted lessons from East Africa, noting that while progress has been made, challenges remained in the areas of compliance, coordination, and system integration.
She 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, 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.
Meanwhile, 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.
The Forum called on governments and development partners to move from policy commitments to implementation, emphasizing that timely action will be critical to achieving the region’s fiscal transition goals.