Zambia signed the Yaoundé Declaration, marking a step forward in combating cross-border tax evasion and IFFs.
Zambia’s Revenue Authority (ZRA) announced that Zambia had signed the Yaoundé Declaration on International Tax Co-operation and the fight against Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) in Africa on 4 December 2025.
ZRA Commissioner General Dingani Banda submitted Zambia’s signed Yaoundé Declaration on international tax co-operation and fight against IFFs in Africa dated 28th November 2025 on behalf of the Honourable Minister of Finance and National Planning, Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, making Zambia the 36th signatory to the Declaration.
The declaration represents Zambia’s commitment to closely collaborate with other African countries in the fight against cross-border tax evasion and IFFs in Africa through Exchange of Information (EOI) and mutual co-operation, with the overarching goal of enhancing Domestic Resource Mobilisation (DRM) on the continent.
Another milestone achieved by Zambia during the 18th Plenary Meetings was the signing of Zambia’s commitment to implement Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (AEOI) on 3rd December 2025 by the Minister of Finance and National Planning. Zambia had already completed the other key preparatory steps toward joining the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (MAAC), including the confidentiality questionnaire and MAAC Articles review.
The MAAC is the global legal instrument that facilitates the implementation of AEOI. With this signed commitment letter, commencing in 2028, Zambia will be able to automatically exchange financial account information with 151 other jurisdictions worldwide. This represents a significant milestone in Zambia’s commitment to fight and eradicate cross-border tax evasion and IFFs to improve domestic resource mobilisation.
During the meetings, Banda shared Zambia’s journey to joining the Global Forum, starting out as an active observer from 2018, highlighted Zambia’s growing dependency on domestic resource mobilisation as major source of financing the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the share of tax revenues in the national budget increasing from 49.1% in 2021 to 71.7% in 2025.
The country has already made strides in revising the legal and regulatory environment for fighting cross-border tax evasion and IFFs, with new measures such as the implementation of Advance Income Tax (AIT) at the rate of 15% on outgoing remittances that exceed USD 2,000.00 when unaccompanied by a valid Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC).
The other measure is the 2026 amendment of the Business Names Act to provide for the disclosure of beneficial ownership information for all entities registered under this Act, in line with the recommendations of the Global Forum. This measure will take effect on 1st January 2026 and is expected to enhance transparency in business ownership structures, making it easier to verify tax compliance at all levels.
He mentioned that in 2024 after joining the Global Forum, Zambia managed to assess USD 6.3 million through EOI with other jurisdictions.
The Commissioner General, Mr. Dingani Banda, is in New Delhi, India, attending the 2025 Plenary Meeting of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (The Global Forum), taking place from 1st to 5th December 2025. He is accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Finance and National Planning and the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA).
