Legal Updates

Dr. Taddese Lencho In a significant and bold move to attract strategic investors into Ethiopia and generate new foreign currency inflows, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) has issued Off-shore Account Opening and Operations for strategic Foreign...

Tibebe Zewdu The Federal Courts Proclamation No. 1234/2020 provides that “Interpretation of law rendered by the Cassation Division of the Federal Supreme Court with not less than five judges shall be binding from the date the decision is rendered.”...

Sisay Habte The Civil Society Proclamation, Proclamation no. 1113/2019 gives Civil Society Organizations (hereinafter “CSO/CSOs”) the right to engage in businesses and investments to raise funds and fulfill their objectives. The Proclamation provided...

A new Investment Incentive Regulation (No 517/2022) was approved by the Council of Ministers on 21 May 2022 and published on the Negarit Gazetta on July 12, 2022 (effective date). The new Investment Incentive Regulation repeals and replaces investment tax incentive regulations in place since 2012. It is important to qualify this regulation as a “tax incentive” regulation as the non-tax incentives are provided for in other pieces of legislation.
The new Investment Incentive Regulation maintains the characteristic features of the 2012 Incentive Regulation, namely the itemization in a schedule of specific investment areas….

The new Books of Accounts Directive (“Directive No. 176/2014,” in Amharic) appears to be a backhanded attempt to revive and enforce the little known Stamp duty law, issued back in 1998, particularly the stamp duties payable on employment contracts, and all contracts, agreements and memoranda. It conditions burden of proof to obtain tax benefits (e.g., tax deductions) upon payment of the double amount of stamp duties for admission of stamp-able documents for other tax purposes.
Here are a few problems with this form of backhanded enforcement.