Of Africa’s 54 countries, 32 now charge VAT or GST on digital services sold by foreign suppliers, up from 21 in 2024, according to a new PwC survey of the rules.
The professional services firm presented the findings of the second edition of VAT in Africa: Digital Services 2026 in a media release on 20 October 2026. The report covers 28 countries in detail, based on information available as of 15 August 2026, and tracks the rules on electronically supplied services, a category that spans streaming, cloud tools, online advertising and marketplaces.
Eleven countries have joined since 2024
Since the first edition, countries that have introduced relevant rules include Algeria, Botswana, Chad, Republic of Congo, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Rwanda, Togo and Zanzibar. Tanzania’s mainland and Zanzibar have separate VAT legislation, so PwC treats them as separate entries.
Not all the new rules are in force yet. Botswana’s non-resident suppliers began registering on 1 June 2026, but they must charge and remit VAT from 1 October 2026. Liberia is moving from a goods and services tax to a VAT, with full implementation expected from January 2027, and Namibia and Mozambique have draft legislation awaiting implementation dates.
Rates and thresholds vary widely
There is no harmonised framework. PwC says the rules differ on which transactions are covered, the revenue level at which a foreign supplier must register, the registration route and the invoicing requirements.
| Country | Rate on digital services | Registration threshold for foreign suppliers | Who is covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 7.5% | $25,000 in annual supplies | B2C and B2B |
| South Africa | 15% | R2.3 million (from 1 April 2026) | B2C and B2B; suppliers serving only VAT-registered vendors excluded since 1 April 2025 |
| Kenya | 16% | None | B2C and B2B |
| Ghana | 20% effective (15% VAT plus 2.5% health insurance levy plus 2.5% education fund levy) | None | B2C and B2B |
| Egypt | 14% (10% for professional and consultancy services) | EGP 500,000 (about $9,500) over 12 months; none for professional services | B2C and B2B |
| Botswana | 14% | BWP 500,000 (about $37,250) over 12 months | B2C, with reverse charge for registered and large business recipients |
Nigeria’s regime applies to non-resident suppliers of services such as cloud computing, streaming, online advertising and e-learning. They act as VAT agents and must remit the VAT they collect to the Nigeria Revenue Service by the 21st day of the following month.
In Ghana, non-resident suppliers cannot recover input VAT, and the country’s tax authority has begun onboarding them onto its E-VAT system. Egypt has made a mandatory API platform the only way for foreign suppliers to verify an Egyptian business customer’s tax number, which decides whether the customer accounts for VAT under the reverse charge mechanism (where the buyer, not the seller, declares the tax).
Compliance gets harder, not simpler
Job Kabochi, PwC Africa’s Indirect Tax Leader, said: “While African governments are increasingly focused on taxing digital services, there is no single approach across the continent.” PwC says businesses selling into several markets must build compliance processes that adapt as the rules change.
PwC also flags the growing use of technology by tax authorities, including electronic registration, e-invoicing and digital reporting tools. Matthew Besanko, PwC Africa’s Southern Africa Indirect Leader, said: “The landscape is moving beyond VAT on electronic services.” He added that businesses’ priority is managing digital economy tax and compliance requirements as an interconnected whole.
The rules reach markets PwC has singled out for growth. Its Africa media outlook to 2030 forecasts Kenya as the world’s fastest-growing internet advertising market and Nigeria as the fastest in streaming video, and both countries apply VAT to digital services sold from abroad.
For subscription platforms, software vendors and marketplaces, 11 new entrants since 2024 mean more registrations, more local returns and more national systems to integrate.
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