Dawit Kidane, a partner at DABLO Law Firm LLP, will be among the few African legal experts at the Africa Energy Dispute Resolution Roundtable organized by the UK Ministry of Justice GREAT Legal Services and Africa Legal on October 31, 2023. The roundtable will be held at the British Embassy in Paris, France.Read More

In its 25th Ordinary Session, the Council of Ministers, with consensus and some additions (amendments), approved the Personal Data Protection Draft Proclamation, the Rural Land Administration Draft Proclamation, and the Special Economic Zone Draft Proclamation. The approved draft bills will be tabled before the Parliament for further discussion and ratification.Read More

The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) is reducing the amount of foreign currency earnings surrendered by exporters to the NBE from 70% to 50% and to commercial banks from 20% to 1%. The new amendment allows exporters to retain 40% of their foreign currency earnings for themselves. The Retention and Utilization of Export Earnings and...Read More

The Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia has ruled that using retained earnings to pay up subscribed capital is not considered reinvestment, but rather debt offsetting. This means that dividends used to pay subscribed capital will be subjected to a 10% tax. The Ministry of Revenue’s ability to retroactively impose taxes on shareholders’ reinvested dividends is...Read More

House Sales in Addis Ababa to Be Taxed at Predetermined Prices The Addis Ababa City Government has set a fixed price per square meter for house sales in an effort to collect all revenue generated by the city, in line with recent tax reforms. Under the new valuation, the government will estimate that a house...Read More

Ethiopian Federal Appellate Courts Must Now Provide Reasons for Dismissing Appeals The federal appellate courts have long had a practice of dismissing appeals without providing a reason on the standard form. This procedure has allowed appellate courts to make prompt decisions as they were not required to articulate detailed reasoning for deciding to dismiss an appeal...Read More

The new Excise Tax Amendment Proclamation No. 1287/2023 became effective as of April 27, 2023 in Ethiopia. The Proclamation abates the excise tax rate for imported new vehicles, stating the earlier rates were “exaggerated.” It also introduces a 5% excise duty on telecommunication services, including internet, voice, and SMS services. As per the Proclamation, this...Read More

Authorities are collecting a 3% social welfare levy on imported goods.   It was back in August 2022 that a new social welfare levy was introduced by the government through the Social Welfare Levy on Imported Goods Regulation No. 519/2022. With a 3% rate, the social welfare levy applies to all goods imported into Ethiopia...Read More

E-Commerce as Trade Category E-Commerce companies can now register as an “Electronic Platform Operator” (Code 85125) or as an “Electronics Intra Platform Operator” (Code 85126). The Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT), along with the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration, has classified e-commerce as a trading category. It was back in October 2022 that...Read More

The Federal Supreme Court Issued Directive No. 17/2023 on Cassation Bench Appeal Procedures PDF Version Available Here On April 12, 2023, the Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia issued a new directive (የፌዴራል ጠቅላይ ፍርድ ቤት የሰበር ሥነ-ሥርዓት መመሪያ ቁጥር 17/2015) on the procedures for entertaining appeals before the court’s Cassation Bench. The Directive provides different...Read More