Equatorial Guinea legal and accounting and tax considerations in 2024

1. The standard corporate tax rate for companies registered in Equatorial Guinea is 35% on all profits. Resident entities are taxed on their worldwide income. The tax year in Equatorial Guinea is the calendar year and annual tax returns must be filed by 30^th April of the subsequent year;
2. Alternative minimum corporate tax is levied when an entities’ operations result in a taxable loss or when the minimum tax is more than 35% of the taxable profit. The rate for the alternative minimum tax is 1% of the previous year’s turnover;
3. Branches pay a corporate tax rate of 35%. There is no additional withholding tax levied on branch remittances;
4. In Equatorial Guinea, VAT is levied at a flat rate of 15% on all goods and services. Some products are subject to a reduced VAT rate of 6% while exports are zero rated. All VAT returns must be filed monthly by the 15th of the subsequent month and must be paid within 15 days following the filing of the VAT returns;
5. Capital gains Equatorial Guinea are subject to the standard corporate tax rate of 35%. Gains from sale of fixed assets are exempt from tax for a period of three years if the taxpayer reinvests the gains in new fixed assets for the entity;
6. Withholding tax is levied in Equatorial Guinea on i) dividends paid to a non-resident entity at the rate of 25% ii) interest paid to a non-resident entity at the rate of 25% on gross amount iii) royalties paid to a non –resident entity at the rate of 10% on the gross amount and iv) technical services paid to a non-resident at the rate of 10% on the gross amount. Payments made by companies in the oil and gas sector are subject to withholding tax levied on i) income of non-residents obtained from commercial or industrial activities or services at the rate of 10% while the rate for residents is 6.25% and ii) mobilization, demobilization and transportation services at the rate of 5%;
7. Losses may be carried forward for up to three years and for companies in the oil and gas sector, for upto five years. Following three consecutive years of losses, companies will be de-registered from the Tax Registry with exemption of new companies;
8. Employers must submit i) to the National Social Security Fund (INESCO) tax at the rate of 21.5% of gross salary ii) Work Protection Fund at the rate of 1% of their employees’ gross salaries;
9. Stamp duty is levied on a variety of instruments and transactions at variable rates;
10. Transfer tax is levied at the rate of i) 3% for the transfer of goods and chattels for valuable considerations ii) 5% on transfers of real property and iii) 5% on transfer of valuable consideration of livestock;
11. Exchange-control regulations exist in Equatorial Guinea for financial remittances outside the Central African Economic Monetary Community (CEMAC) zone. Authorization is required for i) loans obtained by Equatorial Guinea companies from foreign shareholders or a foreign enterprise within the same group and ii) transfer of at least US$2,000 outside of the CEMAC zone;
12. Equatorial Guinea has signed double tax treaties with CEMAC other member states and Customs Union (UDEAC);
13. Healy Consultants Compliance Department will assist our Clients with i) documenting and implementing accounting procedures ii) implementing financial accounting software iii) preparation of financial accounting records and iv) preparing forecasts, budget and sensitivity analysis;
14. It is important our Clients’ are aware of their personal and corporate tax obligations in their country of residence and domicile; and they will fulfill those obligations annually. Let us know if you need Healy Consultants’ help to clarify your annual reporting obligations.