Taxpayers who have voluntarily disclosed their unpaid taxes praise the voluntary disclosure programme, which offers incentives to pay the principal tax, free of penalties and interest for late payment.

The incentives were first announced on March 22, effective for a period of three months. They were recently extended until October 23, 2024, to allow taxpayers to have enough time to complete the ongoing audits and board approvals.

Ronald Niwenshuti, Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) Commissioner General, said this scheme happens once in a long time, and in Rwanda to be specific, this was the first time.

Since it started, more than 2,000 taxpayers have registered and have filed over 11,800 declarations worth Rwf 14.3 billion. Of that amount, they have already paid Rwf 8.4 billion.

GARAGE ATECAR Ltd is one of the companies that participated in the voluntary disclosure scheme and paid taxes that had not been previously reported.

Mutesi Janvière, a finance staff, says that the incentives were very necessary because when penalties are applied, it could disrupt the company's operations.

"Considering the situation, if we had to pay the principal tax with penalties, the amount could have reached Rwf 40 million or Rwf 50 million. That is a lot of money. However, almost Rwf 20 million that would have been penalties and interest were not imposed,,” she added.

Mutesi encouraged everyone concerned to declare unpaid taxes to avoid consequences they may face after audits, which could result in the imposition of taxes along with penalties.

Jean Claude Muhire is another taxpayer who voluntarily came forward to declare previously undisclosed immovable property taxes for the years 2012 to 2022.

For each year, he was supposed to pay a tax of Rwf 52,800, which, with penalties and late payment interest, increased to Rwf71,400, for over ten years.

"I felt that I couldn't manage to pay that amount, but now that only the tax remains without the penalties, I see that I can handle it,” he said.

"I appreciate the good leadership that removed these penalties, and I encourage every concerned taxpayer to participate in these initiatives because they are beneficial. Everyone should come forward willingly, as I did, and have their penalties removed,” he added.

The voluntary disclosure incentives are available to anyone who has engaged in taxable activities, whether registered or unregistered with the tax administration, and has undeclared taxes prior to 2023 tax period.

A dedicated system has been established for disclosing these taxes to avoid penalties, differently from the e-tax system used for regular tax reporting. Voluntary disclosure applies to all domestic taxes, excluding customs duties.

The application for voluntary disclosure incentives indicates the relevant tax type and period; and the tax due with related supporting documents.

Commissioner General Niwenshuti urged taxpayers to do their business health check, to determine the due taxes not disclosed for the periods before 2022.

"This programme continues, because the Minister of finance and Economic Planning extended it until the end of October. So I really want all Rwandans to come onboard because we don’t want to penalise them,” Niwenshuti recently told a news conference.

"We want taxpayers to disclose and pay under these incentives. But at the end of this programme, should there be anyone who has not paid, obviously the arm of the law will be applied,” he added.

The law stipulates that a taxpayer who fails to declare and pay tax within the time limit provided by law pays such a tax and is liable to an administrative fine of 20% of due tax, if the time limit for payment extends for a period of time not exceeding 30 days.

A taxpayer who is granted the voluntary disclosure incentives pays the total amount of principal tax disclosed within 30 days from the date of approval.

Those who disclosed and fail to pay in the timeline stipulated in the Ministerial order Nº 001/24/03/TC of 08/03/2024 determining modalities and conditions for taxpayers to benefit from voluntary disclosure incentives, fines, penalties and interest for late payment will be re-instated.

It gets 40% of due tax, if the taxpayer paid within a period ranging from the 31 day to 60th day from the final date of payment; and 60% of due tax, if the taxpayer exceeds the time limit for payment by more than 60 days.