--- oa_review_kit: v1 guide_slug: rwanda-vat guide_version: rwanda-vat@2026-04-13T17:55:26.233Z archetype: vat_gst --- # Review kit: Rwanda 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/rwanda-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 ("Rwanda VAT", slug `rwanda-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: rwanda-vat guide_version: rwanda-vat@2026-04-13T17:55:26.233Z 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: rwanda-vat description: Use this skill whenever asked to prepare, review, or classify transactions for a Rwanda VAT return. Standard rate 18%. Mandatory EBM (Electronic Billing Machine). No EBM = no input recovery. EAC member. ALWAYS read before handling Rwanda VAT work. jurisdiction: RW domain: vat-gst tax_year: 2025 --- # rwanda-vat ## Section 1 -- Quick reference **Quick reference** | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Country | Rwanda | | Standard rate | 18% | | Zero rate | 0% (exports, diplomatic, SEZ) | | Filing portal | https://efiling.rra.gov.rw | | Authority | Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) | | Currency | RWF | | Filing frequency | Monthly (standard); Quarterly (< RWF 200M turnover) | | Deadline | 15th of following month | | Registration | RWF 20,000,000 annual turnover | | EBM | MANDATORY -- no EBM receipt = no input recovery | | Primary legislation | Law 049/2023 as amended by Law 009/2025 | | Contributor | Open Accounting Skills Registry | | Validated by | Pending | | Last research update | April 2026 | - **Key 2025 changes (Law 009/2025)** — Mobile phones, ICT equipment, fuel, fee-based financial services, local road transport now taxable from July 2025. _(Law 009/2025)_ ## Section 2 -- Required inputs and refusal catalogue **Minimum viable** -- bank statement. Acceptable from BK (Bank of Kigali), I&M Bank Rwanda, Equity Bank RW, BPR, Access Bank RW, or any Rwandan bank. ## Section 3 -- Supplier pattern library **Supplier pattern library** | Pattern | Treatment | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | BK, BANK OF KIGALI | EXCLUDE | Exempt financial | | I&M RWANDA, I&M BANK RW | EXCLUDE | Same | | EQUITY BANK RW, BPR | EXCLUDE | Same | | RRA, RWANDA REVENUE | EXCLUDE | Tax payment | | CUSTOMS | Check for import VAT | | | RSSB | EXCLUDE | Social security | | REG, EUCL | Domestic 18% | Electricity | | WASAC | Domestic 18% | Water | | MTN RW, AIRTEL RW | Domestic 18% | Telecoms | | GOOGLE, MICROSOFT, AWS | Reverse charge 18% | Non-resident | ## Section 4 -- Worked examples ### Example 1 -- Purchase without EBM VAT-registered supplier provides services but issues handwritten invoice without EBM. Input VAT NOT recoverable regardless of supplier's registration status. ### Example 2 -- Export of tea Exporter ships tea to Mombasa. Zero-rated. Input VAT fully recoverable. Must have export documentation. ## Section 5 -- Classification rules - **Standard rate** — 18% - **Zero rate** — 0% (exports, diplomatic, SEZ) - **Exempt categories** — Exempt: unprocessed agricultural, financial (margin-based; fee-based now taxable from July 2025), medical, education, residential rental, public transport (road transport of goods now taxable from July 2025), books/newspapers, water/electricity (domestic), funeral. - **EBM requirement** — EBM: mandatory for all VAT-registered. No EBM = no input claim. ## Section 6 -- VAT return form Output: A1-A7 (standard, zero-rated, exempt, total, output VAT, adjustments, total output). Input: B1-B9 (local with EBM, imports, imported services, input local, input imports, input imported services, total input, adjustments, allowable input). Net: C1-C3 (net, credit b/f, net payable). ## Section 7 -- Reverse charge - **Reverse charge on non-resident services** — Non-resident services: self-assess 18%. Net zero. _(Law 049/2023 Art. 13)_ - **EAC treatment** — EAC: no intra-community mechanism. ## Section 8 -- Deductibility and blocked input - **Blocked input items** — Blocked (Art. 17): entertainment, vehicles < 10 seats (unless taxi/hire), clubs, personal use, purchases without EBM receipt. _(Art. 17)_ - **Partial exemption** — Partial exemption: Art. 16(3). RRA approval. _(Art. 16(3))_ ## Section 9 -- Filing, deadlines, and penalties - **Filing deadline** — Monthly 15th (quarterly for small). - **Late filing penalty** — 20% + RWF 100K minimum - **Late payment penalty** — 1.5%/month - **Non-EBM penalty** — 100% of unreported tax ## Section 10 -- Edge cases, test suite, and escalation **EC1 -- SaaS.** Reverse charge 18%. Net zero. **EC2 -- Non-EBM invoice.** Input NOT recoverable. **EC3 -- Tea export.** Zero-rated. **EC4 -- EAC import (Kenya).** VAT at customs. Recoverable. **EC5 -- Motor vehicle blocked.** **EC6 -- SEZ supply.** May be zero-rated. Verify certificate. **EC7 -- Credit note.** Adjust A6. **EC8 -- Deemed supply cessation.** 18% on market value. **Test 1** -- RWF 5M sale. Output 900K. **Test 2** -- EBM receipt RWF 1M + 180K VAT. Recoverable. **Test 3** -- Handwritten receipt RWF 500K + 90K VAT. Input = 0. **Test 4** -- Indian IT RWF 3M. Output 540K, input 540K. **Test 5** -- Mineral export RWF 50M. Zero-rated. **Test 6** -- Entertainment. Blocked. **Test 7** -- Hospital services RWF 10M. Exempt. Input not recoverable. **Test 8** -- Tanzania import RWF 8M. Customs VAT 1.44M. Recoverable. Out of scope: CIT 30%, PAYE 0%-30%, RSSB 5%+3% pension, 0.3% maternity. ### Prohibitions - **NEVER allow input recovery without EBM receipt** — NEVER allow input recovery without EBM receipt - **NEVER treat EAC as intra-community** — NEVER treat EAC as intra-community - **NEVER accept non-EBM invoices** — NEVER accept non-EBM invoices - **NEVER compute numbers -- engine handles arithmetic** — 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).