Gabon Value-added tax (TVA)
Gabon Value-added tax (TVA) is 18 percent, in force since 1 Jan 2026. Last checked against the official source on 7 Aug 2026.
Taxe sur la Valeur Ajoutee - standard rate applicable to taxable supplies of goods and services in Gabon.
| Current value | 18 percent |
|---|---|
| In force from | 2026-01-01 (restatement — the date this value's current legal basis took effect, not a change in the value; the value is older, and its true origin is not primary-verifiable) |
| Official source | Code General des Impots gabonais, art. 221 (taux de la TVA), as amended by Loi n° 041/2025 du 29 decembre 2025 determinant les ressources et les charges de l'Etat pour l'annee 2026 (Journal Officiel n° 96 Quater du 30 decembre 2025); rates published by the Direction Generale des Impots |
| Last verified | 2026-08-07 |
| Verification | primary — No verification limitation recorded — read from the official source cited. |
| Provenance | source fingerprint |
What this value means
18% is the STANDARD (taux normal) rate and applies to all taxable transactions not carried by a reduced or zero rate. Gabon operates a multi-rate TVA under CGI art. 221: 18% standard; 10% reduced on a listed schedule of products; 5% reduced (notably cement); and 0% on exports cleared through customs and on international transport. EFFECTIVE-DATE BASIS: `restatement` — 2026-01-01 marks the currently-in-force CGI text, not a rate change. RATE ORIGIN, corroborated but NOT primary-verified (researched 2026-08-07): 18% has been the standard rate since the TVA was instituted by Loi n°1/95 du 24 février 1995 (loi de finances 1995), effective 1 April 1995 — per PwC's VAT-in-Africa Gabon guide (which names the instrument and date) and the archived US State Department 1999 country guide ('a VAT of 18 percent is effective since April 1, 1995'; that guide is internally inconsistent, elsewhere saying April 1994, which is disclosed here rather than smoothed). Continuity is confirmed at official points: the DGI's own CGI editions of 2007 (art. 177 nouveau, 18%) and 2025 (art. 221, 18/10/5/0) and the DGI's 2012-era site. The 1995 gazette text itself is not retrievable, so per the primary-source rule the origin is STATED here rather than stamped: effective_from keeps the verified-floor date with the restatement flag. The rate was NOT changed by the 2026 finance law under Loi n° 041/2025, not a rate change. Loi n° 041/2025 did, however, re-shuffle which goods sit in which band: dairy products moved from exempt to 5%, pharmaceutical products moved from exempt to the 18% standard rate, and various items moved 5%->10% or 10%->18%. The law also made electronic invoicing mandatory for all TVA/IS/BIC-registered taxpayers. History is empty because no primary instrument establishing the prior standard-rate values could be retrieved and loaded; the DGI does not publish a rate-change history and no earlier finance law text was reachable. ACCESS QUIRK: dgi.ga is HTML and loads normally, but it cites article numbers without reproducing the statutory text; the consolidated CGI is distributed only as PDF.
Get it programmatically
curl https://afriref.dev/v1/ga/vat
# $0.005 per call — x402 on Base (USDC). No key, no signup.
# History: curl https://afriref.dev/v1/ga/vat/history?from=2020-01-01
# Provenance: curl https://afriref.dev/provenance/ga/vatOther Gabon series: BEAC policy rate (TIAO) · VAT registration threshold · Guaranteed interprofessional minimum wage (SMIG) · Public holidays · Consumer price inflation (IHPC, year-on-year) · Corporate income tax (Impot sur les Societes) · Withholding tax rates · Statutory interest (taux d'intérêt légal) · Personal income tax (IRPP) · Statutory social-insurance contributions
The same figure elsewhere: Ghana · Kenya · Lesotho · Mali · Mauritius · all 34