--- oa_review_kit: v1 guide_slug: ethiopia-vat guide_version: ethiopia-vat@2026-04-13T17:53:38.473Z archetype: vat_gst --- # Review kit: Ethiopia VAT Thank you for reviewing this Guide. This kit is one file with three parts: how to use it, an interview prompt for your AI, and the Guide itself. ## How to use this kit (3 steps, about 15 minutes) 1. Open the AI you already use (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, anything that reads markdown) and paste in everything from "INTERVIEW PROMPT" below, including the Guide at the end. 2. Your AI interviews you like a colleague, one question at a time. Just talk: war stories, walk-throughs, the mistakes you catch. No writing required. 3. Your AI writes your answers up as a single markdown file. Hand it back at openaccountants.com/skills/ethiopia-vat/handback (also linked from the Guide page: "Hand back your file"). What you added is published under your name and credential. If your AI cannot produce the exact output format, hand back whatever you have: a revised Guide file, a worksheet, or plain notes. We take those too, and a person reviews them by hand. The format below is the one we can apply straight away. --- # INTERVIEW PROMPT (paste from here down into your AI) You are interviewing a practising accountant about how they actually do the work covered by the attached Guide ("Ethiopia VAT", slug `ethiopia-vat`). Interview them like a colleague doing a handover. Do not lecture. Ask ONE question at a time and wait for the answer. Chase war stories and specifics: what kind of client, which portal step, how big the penalty was. The rates, thresholds, and citations are our job; we refresh those from primary sources. Capture ONLY what is NOT derivable from law: - order of operations, and what a wrong order corrupts - what to ask a client before computing anything - what to assume when a fact is unknown, and how it gets flagged - the most-missed traps, with penalty size and who falls in - how the portal or filing channel actually behaves - what has to reconcile before anyone signs - when to refuse the work and hand it to a human specialist If the accountant corrects a rate, threshold, or deadline in the Guide along the way, record it in the FACT CORRECTIONS table, but do not steer the interview toward numbers. ## Questions to work through Ask these in order, one at a time. Skip any the accountant has already covered; follow up where a story has specifics worth pinning down. Each question is tagged with the method slot(s) it feeds. 1. [sequence] Walk me through the last VAT return you prepared, start to finish. What did you open first, and why that order? 2. [intake_questions] [evidence] A new client hands you nothing but a bank statement. What do you do before you'll classify a single line? 3. [pattern_library] Which bank-statement line gets misclassified most often in your experience? What does it look like and where should it actually go? 4. [scope_gate] Tell me about a client you refused or referred out. What about their VAT situation made you stop? 5. [trap] When you review a return someone else drafted, what mistake do you catch most often? 6. [conservative_default] When you can't tell if a sale is domestic or cross-border, what do you assume, and how do you mark it? 7. [cross_check] Before you sign, what has to reconcile with what, and how close is close enough? 8. [filing_mechanics] Walk me through filing on the actual portal. What surprises first-timers: the order of forms, what locks, what you can't undo? 9. [judgment_rule] Ever had a client on a simplified scheme where the "simplification" made things worse? How do you decide who belongs on it? 10. [trap] What's the real penalty story you tell clients, the one that actually happened? 11. [evidence] Which claims will you draft from a bank statement but never file without the underlying paper? 12. [unsettled_law] Anything in VAT right now you deliberately won't finalise because the rules are moving? ## Method slots (for tagging the write-up) - `scope_gate` (Scope gate and refusals): when to stop and send the client to a human - `sequence` (Order of operations): what order to do things in, and what a wrong order corrupts - `intake_questions` (Client intake questions): what to ask a client before computing - `evidence` (Documents and evidence): which documents to insist on, and what is draft-grade vs file-grade - `judgment_rule` (Judgment rules): how a practitioner actually picks when the law allows two routes - `conservative_default` (Conservative defaults): what to assume when a fact is unknowable at draft time - `trap` (Traps and most-missed items): the mistakes everyone makes, what they cost, and who falls in - `filing_mechanics` (Portal and filing mechanics): how submission actually works: channel, order, what locks - `cross_check` (Cross-checks before signing): what has to reconcile with what before delivery, and how close is close enough - `pattern_library` (Pattern library): how messy real-world data (bank lines, payout platforms) maps to tax categories - `edge_case` (Edge-case playbook): the client situations that change the method, not just the numbers - `unsettled_law` (Unsettled-law flags): what not to finalise right now, and why - `handback_protocol` (Hand-back protocol): what the finished working paper contains and who reviews it ## Output format: oa-handback v1 When the interview is done, write the answers up as ONE markdown file in exactly this shape. Fill in the reviewer's real name, credential, and email (ask for them at the end if they have not come up). Every method block gets a `### [method:]` heading where `` is one of the 13 slot ids above. Keep `guide_slug` and `guide_version` exactly as given. Omit any section the interview produced nothing for, but keep the headings that remain exactly as shown. The `fact_key` column may be left blank when unknown. ```markdown --- oa_handback: v1 guide_slug: ethiopia-vat guide_version: ethiopia-vat@2026-04-13T17:53:38.473Z reviewer_name: reviewer_credential: # free text: CPA, EA, ACCA, Steuerberater... reviewer_email: verdict: --- ## METHOD ### [method:filing_mechanics] ### [method:intake_questions] - - ... ## FACT CORRECTIONS | fact_key | current | correct | source | |---|---|---|---| | | | | | ## FLAGS - [unsettled] - [refer] ## NOTES ``` If for any reason you cannot produce this exact format, output the accountant's corrections and methods as clear plain notes instead. The hand-back page accepts plain notes and revised Guide files too; this format is an optimization, never a gate. --- # THE GUIDE UNDER REVIEW --- name: ethiopia-vat description: Use this skill whenever asked to prepare, review, or classify transactions for an Ethiopia VAT return. Standard rate 15%. Turnover Tax abolished under Proclamation 1395/2025. ALWAYS read before handling Ethiopia VAT work. jurisdiction: ET domain: vat-gst tax_year: 2025 --- # ethiopia-vat ## Section 1 -- Quick reference **Quick reference** | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Country | Ethiopia | | Standard rate | 15% | | Zero rate | 0% (exports, gold to NBE) | | Filing portal | https://etax.mor.gov.et | | Authority | Ministry of Revenues (MOR) | | Currency | ETB (Ethiopian Birr) | | Filing frequency | Monthly | | Deadline | Last day of following month | | Registration threshold | ETB 2,000,000 (Proclamation 1341/2024) | | Voluntary registration | ETB 1,000,000-2,000,000 | | Turnover Tax | ABOLISHED (Proclamation 1395/2025) | | Primary legislation | VAT Proclamation 1341/2024 (replacing 285/2002) | | Contributor | Open Accounting Skills Registry | | Validated by | Pending | | Last research update | April 2026 | ## Section 2 -- Required inputs and refusal catalogue **Minimum viable** -- bank statement. Acceptable from CBE (Commercial Bank of Ethiopia), Dashen Bank, Awash Bank, Bank of Abyssinia, Wegagen, or any Ethiopian bank. - **R-ET-1 -- Investment incentive** — Investment incentive may exempt capital goods imports. Verify certificate. Escalate. (Trigger: EIC certificate holder) ## Section 3 -- Supplier pattern library **Supplier pattern library** | Pattern | Treatment | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | CBE, COMMERCIAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA | EXCLUDE | Exempt financial | | DASHEN BANK | EXCLUDE | Same | | AWASH BANK, BANK OF ABYSSINIA | EXCLUDE | Same | | WEGAGEN, UNITED BANK | EXCLUDE | Same | | MOR, MINISTRY OF REVENUES | EXCLUDE | Tax payment | | CUSTOMS, ECC | Check for import VAT | | | PENSION, SOCIAL SECURITY | EXCLUDE | | | EEPCO, EEU | Domestic 15% | Electricity | | ETHIO TELECOM | Domestic 15% | Telecoms | | GOOGLE, MICROSOFT, AWS | Reverse charge 15% | Non-resident | ## Section 4 -- Worked examples ### Example 1 -- Standard sale ETB 100,000 net. Output VAT = ETB 15,000 (15%). ### Example 2 -- Purchase from unregistered supplier Goods ETB 10,000 from market trader. No VAT invoice. Input VAT = 0. Pure cost. ## Section 5 -- Classification rules - **Standard rate classification** — 15% standard. 0% exports, gold to NBE, diplomatic supplies. Exempt: residential rental, financial services, medical, education, religious, postal, electricity/water/kerosene (domestic), bread/milk, military. - **TOT abolished; below-threshold treatment** — TOT abolished. Below-threshold businesses: Category B income tax (2%-9% gross). ## Section 6 -- VAT return form Output: Boxes 1-8 (15% sales, zero-rated, exempt, total, output VAT, reverse charge output, adjustments, total output). Input: Boxes 9-15 (local purchases, imports, input local, input imports, reverse charge input, adjustments, total input). Net: Boxes 16-18 (net, credit b/f, net payable). ## Section 7 -- Reverse charge - **Non-resident services reverse charge** — Non-resident services: self-assess 15%. Net zero. Proclamation 285/2002 Art. 10. _(Proclamation 285/2002 Art. 10)_ - **Import of goods VAT** — Import of goods: VAT at customs. Recoverable if for taxable supplies. ## Section 8 -- Deductibility and blocked input - **Blocked input categories** — Blocked (Art. 21): entertainment, motor vehicles < 10 seats (unless transport for hire), personal/non-business use, purchases from non-registered suppliers (no valid invoice). _(Art. 21)_ - **Cash register receipt threshold for retail** — ETB 500 ETB (Cash register receipts acceptable for retail up to this amount) - **Partial exemption apportionment** — Partial exemption: Art. 20(3). Turnover-based apportionment. _(Art. 20(3))_ ## Section 9 -- Filing, deadlines, and penalties - **Filing frequency and deadline** — Monthly. Last day of following month. - **Late filing penalty** — ETB 5,000/month ETB per month - **Late payment penalty** — 2%/month % per month - **Failure to register penalty** — 100% of tax due % - **Understatement penalty** — 10% % ## Section 10 -- Edge cases, test suite, and escalation EC1 -- Cloud SaaS. Reverse charge 15%. Net zero. EC2 -- Unregistered supplier. No input recovery. EC3 -- Coffee export. Zero-rated. Input recoverable. EC4 -- Threshold crossed. Must register for VAT. EC5 -- Construction + WHT. 2% WHT is income tax, not VAT. VAT still 15%. EC6 -- Investment incentive. Capital goods import may be exempt. Escalate. EC7 -- Business gifts. Deemed supply. Output 15% on market value. Test 1 -- ETB 100K sale. Output ETB 15K. Test 2 -- ETB 50K purchase + ETB 7.5K VAT. Recoverable. Test 3 -- UK consulting ETB 200K. Output 30K, input 30K. Net zero. Test 4 -- Flower export ETB 5M. Zero-rated. Test 5 -- Entertainment ETB 30K + VAT 4.5K. Blocked. Test 6 -- Unregistered purchase ETB 10K. No input. Test 7 -- Below threshold ETB 1.5M. Not required to register. Category B tax. Test 8 -- Sedan ETB 2M + VAT 300K. Blocked. Out of scope: CIT 30% (mining 25%), PAYE 0%-35%, pension 7%+7%. ### Prohibitions - NEVER allow input recovery without valid VAT invoice from registered supplier - NEVER reference Turnover Tax -- it is abolished - NEVER allow recovery on blocked categories - NEVER compute numbers -- engine handles arithmetic ## Disclaimer This skill and its outputs are provided for informational and computational purposes only and do not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Open Accountants and its contributors accept no liability for any errors, omissions, or outcomes arising from the use of this skill. All outputs must be reviewed and signed off by a qualified professional before filing or acting upon. The most up-to-date, verified version of this skill is maintained at [openaccountants.com](https://openaccountants.com).