Botswana: Transfer duty and VAT amendments
Amendments to transfer duty and value added tax laws are effective 3 May 2023
Amendments to transfer duty and value added tax laws are effective 3 May 2023
The following amendments to the transfer duty and value added tax (VAT) laws are effective 3 May 2023:
Transfer duty
- New tribal or state land allocations are exempt from transfer duty.
- Transfer duty on the acquisition of immovable property or rights in immovable property by non-citizens is reduced from 30% to 10% on the value of property of up to P2 million and to 15% on the value in excess of P2 million.
- Local council or competent independent valuations will be accepted for the purposes of ascertaining the fair value of immovable property situated on tribal land.
- The transfer duty exemption threshold for citizens is increased from P1 million to P1.5 million.
- Certain persons, including heirs of deceased persons, surviving spouses, and divorcees wishing to transfer property in the name of former spouses, are exempted from the requirement to provide valuation reports and lodging declarations with the Commissioner General. Some persons are required to obtain the Commissioner General’s approval in order to enjoy the exemption from transfer duty.
Value added tax
- Vegetables, cooking oil, liquid petroleum gas, salt, infant formula, baby diapers, sanitary pads or tampons, condoms, agricultural implements are zero-rated.
- Private medical services are exempt, and private medical services providers will automatically be deregistered for VAT by virtue of this exemption. No output tax will arise on capital goods and goods acquired prior to 3 May 2023 irrespective of whether or not input tax was claimed by the medical services providers. Thus, the automatic VAT de-registration of medical services providers will not give rise to any additional VAT obligations or costs.
Read a May 2023 report [PDF 808 KB] prepared by the KPMG member firm in Botswana
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