2merkato

Businesses in Hawassa, capital of the Southern Regional State, started using cash register machines as of last Thursday. VAT registered businesses in the city have transferred from using hand prepared VAT receipts to using the cash registers according to the report.

The cash register machines enable VAT registered businesses to abandon the use of VAT receipts except when power outages occur said Seleshi W/Mariam in charge of the tax awareness training process for the regional tax authority. The use of the electronic reporting machines ensures a smooth and speedy relationship between business and the tax authorities he explained. The system also avoids presumptive taxation according to Seleshi.

The Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority discovered millions in unpaid back taxes through its continued investigation of oil companies. Unpaid taxes from Total Ethiopia and National Oil Company have particularly been identified according to sources.

Total has paid 11.9 million birr of the 23.9 million that it was required to pay in unpaid VAT and withholding tax. It is contesting the remaining 12 million birr said sources.  The authority determined the amount it was owed based on payments made for technical services. This is in transgression of the tax law which designates that all payments in consideration of any kind of technical services or expert advice rendered outside of Ethiopia in any form shall be liable to tax at a flat rate of 10pc, which shall be withheld and paid to the tax authority. 

Diageo plc, concluded the first 30pct down payment for the acquisition of Meta Abo Brewery. The International producer of beverages wired the first installment of payment for its purchase to the Ethiopian Privatization and Public Enterprises Supervising Agency (PPESA) account on Thursday. 

Ethiopia is set to establish a National Accreditation Office (ENAO). The institution will be charged to accredit the competence of Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) performing activities like calibrations, tests, inspections and inspections.

ENAO has been organizing offices, preparing manuals and training personnel according to Nigussue Kibru Head of Communication and Public Service. 30 employees were trained by the South African National Accreditation System and three days worth of training on the General Accreditation Standard ISO/IEC17011 was given by experts from India in December he said.