Benin introduces new service tax

The Beninese government has implemented a new decree – Decree No. 341 of 2018 – imposing an additional tax on telecom services, including a charge for data used to provide a bypass service. The decree applies an extra 5% tax on the value of all voice, SMS and internet services, as well as a fixed charge of XOF5 (USD0.0089) per megabyte of data used ‘for access to the internet to provide a bypass service (OTT [over-the-top] platform) or a social network platform’. The decree is dated 25 July and is effective from 3 August 2018, but was only reported by local press late last week.