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