African Tax Administration Forum (founded 2008)

THE PARTIES TO THIS AGREEMENT:

INSPIRED by the deliberations at the “International Conference on Taxation, State Building and Capacity Development in Africa” held in Pretoria, South Africa on 28 – 29 August 2008;

BELIEVING that a key component of a capable State is the existence of efficient and effective tax administrations;

CONSCIOUS of the important role played by tax administrations in the promotion of economic development and good governance;

RECOGNISING the need for African Tax Administrators to cooperate and actively promote improvement in tax administration through better service delivery, taxpayer education, effective use of automated systems, countering tax evasion and aggressive tax planning, and strengthening audit and human resource management capability in their respective Administrations;

DESIRING to collaborate in a structured manner in order to optimally exchange experiences on good practices, benchmark performance, improve cooperation between, and set the strategic direction for, African Tax Administrations;

CONVINCED that the establishment of the African Tax Administration Forum will greatly contribute to the efficacy of tax administration and improved public service delivery in support of development of the African continent;

AIMING to achieve the broadest possible dialogue, both geographically and linguistically, among tax administrators on the African continent;

DETERMINED to adopt the text of the Agreement on the establishment of the African Tax Administration Forum in terms of the Resolutions adopted at the ATAF Inaugural Conference convened in Kampala, Republic of Uganda from 18 to 20 November 2009;

HEREBY AGREE AS FOLLOWS:

In this Agreement, unless the context indicates otherwise:

“ATAF” means the African Tax Administration Forum established as an international organization in terms of Article 2;

“Council” means the ATAF Council as established in Article 10;

“Development Partners” means all international organisations and agencies which support ATAF and contribute towards its development, whether by way of provision of resources, funding or technical assistance;

“Financial Year” means a period of twelve (12) months from 1st January to 31st December;

“Inaugural Conference” means the meeting of Heads and senior officials of African Tax Administrations convened in Kampala, Republic of Uganda from 18 to 20 November 2009 for the purpose of establishing ATAF;

“General Assembly” means the ATAF General Assembly as established in Article 10;

“Member” means the Tax Administration organ or agency, or its equivalent, of a Party to this Agreement;

“Member State” means an African State which is a Party to this Agreement;

“Month” means the first day of the month through to the last day of that month;

“Party” means an African State which has consented to be bound by this Agreement and for which the Agreement is in force; and

“Secretariat” means the ATAF Secretariat as established in Article 10.

ATAF shall promote efficient and effective tax administration to improve the living standards of the people in Africa.

ATAF shall provide a platform to improve the performance of tax administration in Africa. Better tax administration will enhance economic growth, increase accountability of the state to its citizens and more effectively mobilize domestic resources.

The objectives of ATAF are to:

The official languages of ATAF shall be English, French and Portuguese.

This Agreement shall be open for signature by all African States.

No reservations may be made to this Agreement.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being duly authorized by their respective Governments, have signed and sealed this Agreement in three originals in the English, French and Portuguese languages, all texts being equally authentic.