NIGER

Taxable persons

For the benefit of the national budget, a tax on the profits of commercial, non-commercial professions and other lucrative activities is established.

Taxable activities

Taxable activities are defined as follows :

1) Commercial occupations :

- Business, industrial and craft activities ;

- Forestry and mining, whether operated by concessionaires, lessees, sub-lessees or operating license holders ;

- Farms, including those held by farmers, fish farmers, beekeepers and stockbreeders ;

2) non-trade occupations :

- Liberal professions themselves: liberal professions are those where intellectual activity plays the leading role and which consist of personal practice of a science or art that the person exercised independently ;

- And from offices whose holders do not have the quality of merchants;

3) other gainful activities: all occupations which are sources of profit not linked to any other income group.

- Are also liable to that tax :

1) Consumer cooperatives when they own establishments, shops or stores for the sale or delivery of goods, products or cargo ;

2) Cooperatives and unions of artisans cooperatives ;

3) Production workers' cooperative societies ;

4) persons and companies engaged in intermediate transactions for the purchase or sale of real estate or business or who usually buy for them the same goods in order to resell them, and mortgage companies ;

5) persons and companies who carry the subdivision and sale of land belonging to them ;

6) persons and companies who rent a commercial or industrial establishment fitted furniture or equipment necessary for its operation, as rental includes or not all or part of intangible assets of the business or industry ;

7) The contractors, dealers and communal rights farmers ;

8) public institutions, state agencies and local authorities, provided they enjoy financial autonomy and engage in an activity of industrial or commercial and profit-making operations ;

9) real estate companies, whatever their form ;

10) the economic interest groups (GIE) formed under the conditions provided by the Commercial Code ;

11) professional civil societies (SCP) ;

12) approved management centres (CGA), created in commercial form ;

13) associations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) engaged in a gainful activity.

Exemption

Are exempt from income tax :

1) Consumer Cooperatives Companies that simply group the orders of their members and to distribute their consignment stores foodstuffs, products or goods which have been the subject of such orders ;

2) economic housing offices and companies ;

3) film clubs and cultural centres.

Rate

The rate of income tax is 30%, with no deduction, of taxable net income and rounded to the lesser thousand francs

Fixed minimum charge

·         Taxable persons

Natural or legal persons subject to mandatory or optional actual tax regime are subject to the minimum tax.

·         Tax rate

The rate of minimum tax is set at 1% of turnover as defined above

·         Exemption

Are exempt from the minimum tax during the two (2) first fiscal years, newly created companies, provided they subscribe their annual declaration of results within the time prescribed by law.

Are exempt from the minimum tax for three (3) fiscal years, companies whose rehabilitation rehabilitation plan is subject to the express authorization of the Minister of Finance

Withholding Tax on profits

·         Taxable persons/activities

persons exercising a commercial or non-commercial activity are subject to a withholding tax of tax payable in respect of the profits.

The withholding tax is levied on :

a) the goods landed, for commercial purposes, in Niger ;

b) imports of goods for commerce ;

c) exports, re-exports following suspensive customs regimes, for commercial purposes ;

d) purchases from wholesalers and manufacturers for commercial purposes ;

e) provision of services made to the State or its agencies, public or private, to private individuals, projects, non-governmental organizations, diplomatic and consular representations and other bodies ;

f) the supply of goods to the State or its agencies, public or private, to private individuals, projects, non-governmental organizations, diplomatic and consular offices and other agencies.

·         Exemption

The withholding tax is not levied on the following :

a) in-kind donations for the state, local authorities and public administrative institutions ;

b) imports by individuals for their own use ;

c) imports for the diplomatic and consular missions, international organizations and non-governmental organizations, because of their special status, benefit from the exemptions under the income tax ;

d) samples ;

e) the operations carried out by the holders of exemptions issued in their name by the Directorate General of Taxes.

·         Levy rate

The rates applicable to transactions subject to withholding include :

-          2% on transactions made on the internal market through licensed operators and not holding a certificate of exemption from payment of the withholding tax ISB ;

-          4% on the port and customs operations carried out by licensed operators and not holding have a certificate of exemption from payment of the withholding tax ISB ;

-          7% on transactions made by non-registered traders with the Directorate General of Taxes.

The applicable rates are listed in the table below :

·         Exemption from withholding tax

May benefit from an exemption from payment of the withholding tax, companies reported a turnover of over 300 million francs for the procurement activities sale or 100 million francs for service activities for the year previous fiscal. This exemption is evidenced by a certificate issued by the Directorate General of Taxation, upon written request of the company.

Taxable persons

Natural or legal persons subject to a tax regime under real benefits are subject to the apprenticeship tax.

Exemption

Natural or legal persons whose sole activity education are exempt from the tax.

Rate

The rate of the apprenticeship tax is equal to :

- 2% for wages paid to Niger workers ;

- 4% for wages paid to non-Niger workers.

Taxable persons

Are subject to the tax on certain overhead natural or legal persons subject to an effective tax regime.

Taxable activities/products

The tax is applicable to :

1°) gifts of any kind ;

2°) Entertainment costs ;

3°) expenditure on vehicles and other goods or services available to certain people.

4°) The cost of air travel of staff members and their families during the annual leave(s).

Rate

The rate of the tax is 10%.

Taxable persons

Are subject to value added tax :

1) importers ;

2) producers ;

3) converters ;

4) merchants ;

5) natural or legal persons who trade leasing ;

6) contractors for construction works ;

7) service providers. These include :

- Rental of things or services, including furnished rentals. ;

- Business involving consumption on the premises and hotels ;

- Shows and entertainment activities ;

- Acts of intermediaries, including commission agents, brokers ;

- Services of any kind.

Taxable products

Are subject to the tax on value added business done on the territory of the Republic of Niger by natural or legal persons who regularly or occasionally and independently, performing acts belonging to an industrial, commercial or craft or perform any kind of services.

Constitute taxable transactions :

1°) imports ;

2°) sales. The following are also treated as sales: :

- The provision of water, electricity, gas and telecommunications ;

- Instalment sales ;

- Delivery of property made pursuant to a commission contract for purchase or sale ;

3°) sales, inside the country, of used goods ;

4°) work;

5°) provision of services;

6°) the supply of goods or services is a taxable person to himself for his own or those of its operating needs.

Exemption

Are exempt from value added tax :

1) the business carried on by farmers, ranchers and fishermen in the ordinary course of their business ;

2) imports and sales of products (some necessities (flour, milk, etc.),

unprocessed raw products, pharmaceuticals, agricultural inputs, road transport of goods and passengers, insurance operations, etc.)

3)sales and resale in the country of uranium and related and substances ;

4) sales and resale, inside the country, of meat, offal of poultry, fruits and vegetables ;

5) the fees received by members of the medical and paramedical professions and veterinarians ;

6) the revenue made by educational institutions, universities, technical and vocational schools ;

7) income from the leasing of unfurnished buildings ;

8) direct exports and re-exports of goods as a result of suspensive customs procedure ;

9) air transport to and from abroad ;

10) Fuelling and provisioning of foreign aircraft ;

11) business sales, repair, transformation and maintenance of aircraft for the aviation companies whose services to abroad represent at least 50% of all of the lines they operate ;

12) road transport of goods and passengers ;

13) the revenue from the composition, printing or sale of newspapers and periodicals with the exception of advertising revenue ;

14) the activities of non-profit associations which are legally established, as well as film clubs, cultural centres and national museums ;

15) sales of stamps and stamped papers ;

16) sales or services provided by the state, local governments and public institutions which do not have commercial or industrial nature, with the exception of services relating to telecommunications ;

17) business conducted by the insurance companies subject to the single tax on insurance ;

18) operations designed in particular to transfer ownership or customer liable registration fees ;

19) the bank charges relating to the refinancing through rediscounting or public or private pension effects included in the portfolio of banks, financial institutions and public or semi-public authority to carry out discount operations, as well as relating to the effects of first negotiation to mobilize loans from the same organizations ;

20) water supplies and electricity to households to a level of monthly consumption lower or equal to 50m3 for water and 150KW / H for electricity ;

21) business conducted by insurance brokers approved by the Minister of Finance, in the ordinary course of their business ;

22) portfolio management fees charged by insurance agents licensed by the Minister of Finance ;

23) Interest on bonds and debentures ;

24) interest on term deposits of more than six (6) months ;

25) military materials and equipment ;

26) revenues generated by companies whose main activity is the organization of gambling and subject to the tax on gambling ;

27) interest on the loan contracted by employees as part of a first property purchase on a registered land in the service of Land Conservation. To qualify for the exemption, the amount of the loan shall not exceed thirty million (30,000,000) francs ;

28) revenues relating to national museums and historical monuments tours.

Rate

The rate of value added tax is 19%.

Taxable products

-          Transfers for value, free or in fact, of the following products, delivery conditions in the territory of Niger, are subject to excise duties (tobacco, drinks, cola nuts, oils and fats, etc.).

-          Disposals made by the main branches to their branches or retail stores and those made by cooperatives or buying groups to their members are taxable excise duties.

Exemption

Are exempt from excise duty, sales or similar transactions of :

- Products that have supported the tax in Niger ;

- The products to be shipped out of Niger.

Rate

Taxable persons

Is subject to trade tax anyone who performs an activity which is under a real tax regime

Exemption

Are exempt from business tax :

1) Savings and loans banks administered free of charge ;

2) agricultural production cooperatives and associations for operations which, entering the normal uses of agriculture, would not give rise to the application of business tax if they were performed in the same conditions by each participant the said companies ;

3) stewardships, consumer cooperative societies when they are confined to group orders of their members

Rate

Business tax consists of a fixed fee and a prorated fee.

A- FIXED FEE

Art. 175- The fixed fee is equal to one thousandth (. ‰) of the turnover in respect of the previous year, but without being less than 150 000 CFA francs>.

B- PRORATED FEE

Art. 176- The prorated fee is 10% of the rental value of property used for the practice of the profession, whether occupied for a fee or free of charge, except 59

of premises used for habitation. The rental value to withhold is defined in Articles 16. to 16. of this Code.

The prorated fee can not be less than one quarter (1/4) of the fixed charge.

Taxable persons

Any person subject to an effective tax regime of right or on option, which is engaged in the sale of alcoholic fermented drinks to eat in or take away, is subject to a license fee for each establishment sale.

However, the license is not due by the merchant that sells exclusively alcoholic mint and alcoholic medication.

Taxable products

The drinks are classified into two categories which include:

- Category 1: liqueurs, aperitifs, wines and other alcohols containing more than 15% of alcohol per volume) ;

- 2nd grade: other alcoholic beverages

Exemption

Rate

The license consists of a fixed fee with two classes, determined as follows :