Workshop Urges Strengthening of Efforts On Fiscal, Customs Reforms in West Africa (ECOWAS)

4 December 2011
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Economic Community of West African States (Abuja)
press release

Ouagadougou — A regional workshop to discuss the fiscal reforms required in West African countries prior to the signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the region and the European Union has called for the strengthening of collaboration between the ECOWAS Commission and the Customs Administrations of Member States and Mauritania, towards the finalization of a fiscal reforms support programme.

The workshop, which ended on Saturday 3rd December 2011 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, also recommended that countries submit to the ECOWAS Commission, not later than 31st December 2011, a comprehensive and updated fiscal and customs reforms concluded in the last three years, reforms that are ongoing and those for implementation during the next five years. The ECOWAS Commission was requested to provide support to fiscal and Customs Administrations towards developing national programmes on the reforms.

Attended by representatives of ECOWAS and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) Commissions, Mauritania and the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ), the meeting, focused mainly, on the conclusions of a study requested by ECOWAS on fiscal reforms and the indicative matrices of fiscal and customs reforms. The participants also recommended the creation within the institutional mechanism of ECOWAS and UEMOA, of a structure in charge of issues relating to domestic taxation and the provision of adequate human resources. They urged the ECOWAS Commission to urgently finalize measures to facilitate the evaluation of expected fiscal revenue losses to each country upon conclusion of the EPA.

The workshop also recommended that two meetings be organized to evaluate the progress with the development of national support programmes for fiscal reforms within the framework of the EPA negotiations. The Acting Director of Customs, ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Salifou Tientoré, expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the workshop and urged the participants to continue the work on their return to their respective countries towards finalising the proposed indicative matrices.

On her part, the Director of Legislation and Litigation at Burkina Faso's Department of Taxes, Mrs. Fati Balma, commended the ECOWAS Commission for its commitment to finalizing the process for regional fiscal reforms support programme in the region.

Read the original article on Ecowas.

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