Guinea VAT on non-resident digital services

The West African country of the Republic of Guinea imposed Value Added Tax on foreign providers of digital or electronic services from 2016, further updated in January 2022. There is no VAT registration threshold. A Tax Representative is required. For B2B transactions, nil-rating reverse charge applies and the resident business should report the VAT.

The current VAT rate in Guinea is 18%. Follow VAT Calc’s global VAT and GST on digital services blog keeps a live update on how countries are imposing indirect taxes on non-resident providers and electronic marketplaces.

What digital services are liable to Guineian  VAT?

Income from the following e-services is subject to VAT:

• E-learning
• Download or streaming music, video etc.
• Online or download gaming
• Digital subscription services
• Online advertising services
• Other digital services such as storage of data

Determining if VAT is due

Providers should determine if their consumer is resident or ‘enjoyed’ the services in Guinea. They may rely of the following types of evidence:

• IP address of the device that accessed the service
• Billing or payment intermediary address
• Electronic marketplaces VAT obligations

Generally, it is the provider who must take responsibility for any VAT obligations, for example if there is no payment provider effecting a withholding VAT.

VAT registration and compliance

When the provider is responsible for the VAT collections, they must register immediately. There is no registration threshold. There is a simplified registration process for non-residents who must appoint a local tax representative who is responsible for invoicing and returns. But there is then no facility to recover any input VAT incurred.

Non-residents are exempted from the Guinea e-invoicing requirements. But they must provide basic traditional invoices.

Africa & Middle East VAT on digital services