On 9 July 2020, Angola has published Law no. 21/20 in the Official Gazette amending to the General Tax Code. Among the changes introduced, the following stand out:
- introduced a general anti-abuse rule (GAAR) allowing the tax authorities to disregard for tax purposes any acts aimed at obtaining a tax advantage with abuse of legal forms, and to apply standards of substance over form and economic reality;
- binding information is personal and cannot be used by other taxpayers;
- the submission of substitution declarations depends on the payment of a fee;
- the lifting of bank secrecy is feasible in certain situations provided for by law, namely if there is a failure to comply with reporting obligations;
- the generalized extension of the terms available to the taxpayer for 30 days (e.g. the right to be heard, complaints about tax acts, hierarchical resources, etc.),
- there is a reduction in the fine for non-payment of any tax within the legal term from 35% to 25% of the tax lacking; and
- there is an increase in the percentage of reduction of the fine from 30% to 50% of the applicable amount when spontaneous payment by the offender.
The Law came into force on the day of its publication.
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