Rwanda: Revenue Authority issues emergency tax measures amidst the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

On March 20, 2020 the Rwanda Revenue Authority (“RRA”) issued new tax measures to deal with the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Tax measures adopted include:

the suspension of all comprehensive tax audits and post clearance audits for a period of one month. However, desk audits will go ahead as planned;
allowing taxpayers required by law to file certified financial statements, to declare and pay income tax for the 2019 year of assessment based on uncertified financial statements. The deadline for filing certified financial statements has been extended to 31 May 2020, however, the deadline for the declaration and paying of income tax remains unchanged at 31 March 2020;.
suspending the 25% down payment required for taxpayers seeking amicable settlement of their tax disputes with the RRA with effect from 23 March 2020 for a period of one month.

It should be noted that no extension was granted for the filing and payment of other taxes such as value-added tax and pay-as-you-earn (employees’ tax).

Do not hesitate to contact ENSafrica if you require any further advice in this regard.

Reviewed by Celia Becker, an Executive in ENSafrica’s Africa Regulatory and Business Intelligence team.

Dieudonné Nzafashwanayo
ENSafrica Rwanda | Senior Associate
dnzafashwanayo@ENSafrica.com
+250 733 300 305

COVID-19, also known as the Coronavirus, is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on 11 March 2020. The disease has since been reported in over 190 countries.

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