Over a 12-month period, eliminating customs duties on IT equipment has been a burden on the national economy. Likewise, the exemption from VAT on certain socio-educational goods such as persimmons, loincloths ... can not prosper, according to the 2018 Finance Act.
Earlier in 2016, Cina Lawson marveled at the project as follows: "Togo has set itself the goal of becoming a digital hub in the sub-region. In order to facilitate access to new technologies, the Council of Ministers decided on 7 April last (Editor's note, 2016) to include in the draft Finance Law 2017 the abolition of customs duties on computer equipment in order to reduce acquisition cost for Togolese households ".
The project aimed to enable citizens to acquire good ICT products to enjoy the many investments in telecom infrastructure. "The government's objective was to reduce the cost of these goods by reducing or exempting their importation and sale of value-added tax (VAT)," the government statement said.
The decision, which came into force at the beginning of 2017, was supported by the decision to tax certain other products of social and educational need, in this case khaki and loincloth fabrics (list not exhaustive).
At the National Assembly, the deputies were cautious to register this initiative in a logic of experimentation for the year 2017.
The Government reveals that, after an investigation, the tax and customs measures did not affect the cost price of the products on the market.
"Unfortunately, the application of these measures, which creates a significant revenue shortfall to the Treasury, has not achieved its intended objective because the investigations conducted have revealed that the prices of the goods in question have not declined. These measures do not benefit consumers, "says the government quoted by PA-L'Union.
The same source said that according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the removal of taxes on the import and sale of computer terminals leads to a shortfall of 3 billion CFA francs, while the volume of purchase at during this period has not increased to engender a reciprocal perception of VAT in terms of compensation.
As a result, these tax measures could not be renewed in the 2018 Finance Act.
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