Ethiopian businesses and investors eagerly awaited the news today, as the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA) announced the official registration of the “Capital Market Service Providers Licensing and Supervision Directive No. 980/2024.” This landmark directive serves as the foundation for a robust legal framework, governing everything from licensable activities within the capital market to the...Read More

In a significant milestone for the Ethiopian legal landscape, the Federal Supreme Court, in collaboration with the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute, has unveiled a transformative “smart court system.” These advancements promise to revolutionize the Ethiopian judicial system, as aptly stated by Solomon Merkebu, the Federal Supreme Court Smart Systems Manager: “The smart court system has...Read More

Dawit Kidane, an esteemed partner at DABLO Law Firm LLP, is set to play a pivotal role as one of the distinguished African legal experts at the highly anticipated Africa Energy Dispute Resolution Roundtable. This exclusive event is being organized in collaboration with the UK Ministry of Justice GREAT Legal Services and Africa Legal, and...Read More

In its 25th Ordinary Session, the Council of Ministers of Ethiopia, 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. Cabinet_News_የካቲት_16_2016_-_February_27_2023DownloadRead 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