Seventh Meeting of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Finance Ministers to hold in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire – African Business

The Department of Economic Affairs of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), through its Directorate of Customs is organising the 7th meeting of Finance Ministers of ECOWAS Member States and of Mauritania, on 26 November 2022 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

This important meeting is being organized to examine and endorse various Community legal texts relating the implementation of ECOWAS’ Common External Tariff (CET), and tax harmonisation.

Upon consideration and approval, the Finance Ministers would then recommend the texts for adoption by the ECOWAS Council of Ministers. The texts include the (i) Draft Regulation amending list of goods included in the ECOWAS CET Tarife and statistical nomenclature, (ii) draft Directive setting out regional guidelines on the code of ethics for tax administrations of ECOWAS Member States, and (iii) draft Directive amending Directive C/DIR.2/06/09 relating to the Harmonisation of ECOWAS Member States’ laws on excise duties.

Further texts to be submitted for consideration and approval of the Finance Ministers are the, (iv) Draft Directive to Harmonize the Methodology for Evaluating Tax Spend in ECOWAS Member States, (v) Draft Directive to establish an institution monitoring and evaluation system for tax transition in West Africa, and finally (vi) draft Directive amending Directive C/DIR1/05/09 of 27 May 2009 relating to the Harmonisation of ECOWAS Member States’ Legislations on Value Added Tax (VAT) Directive C/DIR.2/ 17 of 14 December 2017 was amended.

A technical meeting of the Joint ECOWAS/UEMOA Committee for the Management of the ECOWAS Customs Union (21-23 November 2022) will be held in Abidjan to ensure an effective review of the draft text.

This regional meeting of national experts of the ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions is to precede a meeting of Directors-General of Customs and of Taxation which will be held in Abidjan on the 24th and 25th of Nov 2022.

In attendance at the series of meetings will be ECOWAS Finance Ministers, Customs Directors-General, experts in customs, industry/trade/finance from the ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions. A cooperation agreement between ECOWAS and Mauritania also allows the Islamic Republic of Mauritania to attend the meetings.

Remember that the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET), which entered into force on January 1, 2015 in the Member States following the declaration of the Authority of Heads of State and Government at the 46th Ordinary Session held in Abuja on December 15, 2014, was an important step in the establishment of a regional customs union.

To aid Member States in their gradual move to the CET structure, ECOWAS Council of Ministers adopted the ECOWAS Regulation concerning supplementary protection measures at its extraordinary session held in Abidjan 30 September 2013. These measures will expire 31 December 2022.

To support revenue mobilization in Member States, the Community also established a tax transition program.

The tax transition program in collaboration with Member States is in keeping with the need for harmonisation of taxation laws on excise duties, value added tax, and to set guidelines on the code and conduct of tax administrations within ECOWAS Member States.

Distributed by APO Group for the Economic Community of West African States.