According to the 2025-2026 Budget Strategy Paper issued by the Finance Ministry, the e-billing pilot has been ongoing for three years and is scheduled to end by March. The ministry described the e-billing initiative as a key priority in the effort to “further curb leakages and maximise revenue,” for government. “These e-service platforms are aimed at enhancing tax compliance for both individuals and businesses, fostering a business-friendly environment and encouraging investment. “Simplification of tax laws is also expected to boost tax revenue collections,” the Strategy Paper reads. Already in use in some countries in Africa, the VAT e-billing system involves digitising the tax invoicing system to allow live updates of transactions to the tax agency.
According to its last estimates, the BURS projects that it is losing between 30% and 50% of the VAT it could be collecting annually, figures which for the 2023-24 financial year equated to as much as P7 billion. BURS officials previously told journalists that a benchmarking exercise had been done in Rwanda and Tanzania amongst other countries. “The team went to Rwanda, which was an amazing experience where at one restaurant, as you buy, the system reports to Rwanda’s tax agency to say this is how much VAT is owed,” BURS customs services commissioner, Segolo Lekau, told BusinessMonitor previously. “As BURS, we would be able to see how much we are expecting by the time you come to do your returns,” he said. BURS commissioner of operations, Tutu Bakwena, previously explained that the rollout of the e-billing system would likely not be done across the board countrywide, taking into account the varying capabilities of the different commercial entities.
