Overview
Chad has progressively extended the scope of VAT to cover electronic and digital services supplied to consumers within its territory, as part of broader reforms to modernise the VAT system and protect the domestic tax base.
The Finance Law for the 2025 fiscal year, effective from 1 January 2025, introduced amendments to the General Tax Code to explicitly bring electronic services and digital supplies within the scope of taxable VAT supplies in Chad, carried out either through foreign or local e-commerce platforms.
The Finance Law for the 2026 fiscal year, effective from 1 January 2026 subsequently defined digital services to include the supply of goods and services provided electronically through electronic communication networks and expanded the scope to include commissions received by intermediary platforms in connection with the sale of services within the Chadian territory.
Key provisions applicable to VAT on ESS
| Particulars | Description |
| Scope | Both B2C and B2B |
| Liability to remit VAT | The non-resident supplier together with their accredited resident representative is liable to remit and pay the VAT. In the event that the non-resident does not have a representative or a permanent establishment in Chad, the client or customer will be required to account for the VAT through the reverse charge mechanism. |
| VAT rate | 17.5% (plus a 10% additional surcharge of the VAT amount) |
| Taxable value | The taxable value for services is the price of the service received. |
| Effective date | 1 January 2026 |
| VAT registration threshold | Annual turnover of at least XAF 50 million (circa USD 87,000) |
| Tax invoice | The non-resident will be required to issue standardised electronic invoices. |
Services in scope
Operations carried out through foreign or local e-commerce platforms, as well as commissions received by the operators of these platforms including;
- Digital services including supplies of goods or services carried out automatically over a computer and/or electronic network, and
- Commissions received by foreign digital platforms in connection with the sale of services within Chadian territory.
Registration and compliance
The non-resident supplier liable for VAT must, within 15 days following the start of their activity, submit a declaration of existence to the Directorate of Large Enterprises together with an application for registration as a person liable for VAT.
Once registered, taxpayers are required to submit monthly declarations via the tax management system (e-TAX), accompanied by the mandatory supporting documents, by the 15th of the following month. The operations of registration, declaration and payment of taxes collected by the operators of e-commerce platforms can be carried out online through the administration's e-Tax portal.
Invoicing
Taxpayers are required to issue standardised electronic invoices through electronic invoicing machines certified by the General Directorate of Taxes. For taxpayers with business invoicing systems for their own account, the systems must meet the technical specifications issued by the General Directorate of Taxes and must be approved before use in Chad.
Invoices must be issued in Central African CFA Franc (XAF). Based on the General Tax Code, the taxable base should be rounded down to the nearest thousand, for VAT calculation purposes.
VAT on costs
Non-resident suppliers may recover the VAT incurred on the cost components of a taxable transaction in the month following that in which the taxable transactions are carried out, provided that the relevant conditions are met.
Other considerations
In accordance with Chadian tax laws, non-resident suppliers are required to appoint an accredited solvent representative, resident in Chad, who is jointly and severally liable with them for the payment of VAT.
VAT on cryptocurrency/digital assets
Currently, Chad does not have specific VAT rules or regulations relating to cryptocurrency-related activities or digital assets.
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