Angola: VAT credits and refunds

This HLS summarizes IMF technical assistance provided to Angola on strengthening the management of VAT credits and refunds. The mission assessed the significant accumulation of excess VAT credits—equivalent to 0.5 percent of GDP—and identified structural, legal, operational, and compliance-related factors behind this build-up. The mission recommends strengthening the integrity of VAT credits and refund processes through improved invoice controls, risk-based verification, enhanced Standard Audit File for Tax Purposes (SAF-T) and VAT filing compliance, alternative collection mechanisms for high-risk sectors, and development of modern risk analytics. It further recommends the establishment of an Extraordinary VAT Excess Credit Regularization Program to validate and clear long-outstanding credit balances, evaluation of cross-tax offsetting options, and implementation of measures to reinforce governance, transparency, and internal control across the VAT refund system.