Press briefing by the Tax and Customs Advisor to the Minister of Finance and Budget

"Thanks to the reforms of the Financial Information System, the State can now count on its own resources outside oil", Rodney Hermann Gouellet says
08 Apr, 2021

Rodney Hermann Gouellet, Adviser to the Minister of Finance and Budget Calixte Nganongo, held a press briefing at the headquarters of this administration, Thursday, April 8, 2021 in Brazzaville.

 

His presentation focused on the Single Payment Window (SPW), which was launched barely a month ago, but whose results, in thirty days of collection, are spectacular!

Below is an excerpt from his presentation on the functioning of the SPW, as a mechanism for payment, collection or recovery, as well as for securing and maximizing State revenue.

"Through his smartphone, through a computer, an iPad, wherever the taxpayer is, he can connect to his environment in E-TAX (Integrated Tax Management System) and make the declaration of his taxes, issue a statement of liquidation and then pay the SPW.

In order to secure the payment or the receipt, the Minister of Finance and Budget has set up a module that helps the Treasury to better collect public revenue: the SPW. The Ministry of Finance has contacted our partner, the Postal Bank of Congo (BPC), which is present throughout the country through its network of branches (Bétou, Cabosse, Nkayi, Dolisie, etc.): it is the densest network in the country's banking system. Thus, in any corner of Congo, taxpayers, our fellow citizens, can access a bank, a banking institution, to be able to pay their taxes.

Through the E-TAX platform, the taxpayer makes his declaration, edits his statement of settlement (if he does it online); he goes to the BPC (if he wants to make a cash payment), and the Postal Bank of Congo takes the resources, enters them into the E-PAY module, and records the operation. And when the transaction is validated, the collector who manages the taxpayer in his or her tax residence is automatically informed of the payment, in real time.

This means that today, a certain latitude and freedom is given to everyone: to the taxpayer, on the one hand, and to the public accountant or collector, on the other.

As for payment by bank transfer, if the taxpayer has made his statement of settlement on E-TAX, he can proceed directly to the payment or transfer, and this arrives at the BPC. It automatically accounts for the payment, and the information is sent back that the taxpayer has paid, and therefore he can issue his receipt directly online.

As far as payment by bank transfer is concerned, if the taxpayer has made his statement of settlement on E-TAX, he can proceed directly to the payment or transfer, and this arrives at the BPC. It automatically accounts for the payment, and the information is sent back that the taxpayer has paid, and therefore he can print his receipt directly online.

For taxpayers who do not do this, they can go to the tax administration, to what is called the "heart" module. With the manager of the tax administration, they will enter their taxes; their statements of liquidation will be issued. With these statements, they go to the SPW where they make their payment. And, directly, the information is given to the collector. They can go directly online to collect their receipts, or they can go back to their tax residences, which will have nothing else to ask of them, since the information has already arrived, other than to deliver their receipts.

This allows the taxpayer to be much more flexible in his management and to avoid crowding (especially during tax return periods, when many taxpayers congregate in the tax centers), given the physical distance dictated by the Covid-19 pandemic. This allows the manager to do his accounting and to pass on the information to the right person (...)

From 10 April 2021, the entire BPC network will be equipped and automated. From then on, a taxpayer residing in Brazzaville, for example, will be able to make his declaration and pay anywhere, but will be accounted for as if he were accounted for in his tax residence!

 

 

Some statistics

 

In one month, the SPW recorded about 40 billion CFA francs in payments. We had between 10 and 15 billion CFA francs in direct payments. This makes a total of between 50-55 billion CFA francs. When we try to compare what was achieved in March 2021 with what was achieved in the same period in 2019 and 2020, the difference is great:

March 2019: 55 billion CFA francs;

March 2020: 47 billion CFA francs;

March 2021: CFAF 50-52 billion.

Despite the crisis, the objective of maximizing revenue has been achieved. For example, for VAT:

March 2019: 11 billion CFA francs;

March 2020: 11 billion CFA francs;

March 2021: 18 billion CFA francs.

In fine, the reforms have made us more resilient to the crisis. We have doubled the collection of VAT to 4 billion CFA francs! (...) ". 

 

The Press Office of the Ministry of Finance

Category:NEWS
Sub Category:TAXES