The Investment Climate Facility for Africa (ICF) has begun two projects in partnership with the government of Senegal, in a move it says will improve the country's business environment.
The first project, says the ICF, aims to streamline the country's tax administration system, generating significant time and cost savings for the private sector. A second project will modernise the Senegalese Customs Authority, reducing the time and costs associated with the declaration and release of goods.
ICF CEO Omari Issa says: “We are committed to delivering practical, common-sense solutions to enable Africa to fulfil its very real investment potential, and are confident these projects will make Senegal an even better place to do business.”
According to him, the tax administration project will refine existing processes and digitalise tax records. Currently, it takes 175 days to reimburse corporate tax, 175 days to provide VAT credit refunds and two days to declare and pay taxes.
Issa says expectations are that by the end of 2010, it will take 15 days for corporate tax reimbursements, 30 days for VAT refunds and two days to declare and pay taxes.
The second project, he says, is the third step taken to improve and streamline customs in Senegal, where there are three stages to clear goods for importing or exporting: pre-clearance, clearance and release of goods.
ICF's first stage reduced the time it takes to issue pre-clearance declarations from two days to just seven hours, and the second project rendered the clearance process entirely paperless. Following the successful implementation of this third initiative, the entire Senegalese custom declaration system will be streamlined and automated.
“These projects build on the considerable success achieved by the Senegalese government, whose efforts to date are already delivering tangible improvements to the local investment culture,” he concludes.
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