(JUBA) – The South Sudan Revenue Authority has ordered businesses and individual taxpayers to settle all outstanding tax debts immediately and warned that unregistered enterprises face criminal prosecution.
The Commissioner of the Domestic Tax Revenue Division, Lino Ajang Ajang, issued a public notice on 12 June 2026 confirming that the deadline for monthly and quarterly tax returns and payments fell on 15 May 2026. Taxpayers who missed the deadline must now clear their arrears without further delay.
The taxes covered by the order include Personal Income Tax Withholding on wages and salaries, rental income, government contracts, technical fees, dividends, royalties, lottery winnings and other gaming proceeds. Sales tax and excise tax obligations for manufacturing companies, hotels, bars, restaurants, financial institutions, travel agencies and telecommunications firms are also due for immediate filing and payment.
Commissioner Ajang further directed that any tax filings and payments missed during previous periods must be settled now. This covers business profit tax, personal income tax and presumptive income tax owed by sole proprietors and entrepreneurs. Taxpayers with arrears recorded in the Domestic Tax Integrated System are required to contact the Arrears Management Committee and make payments through designated commercial banks while continuing to file and pay current liabilities online as normal.
The notice carried a stern warning for businesses operating without a Tax Identification Number. “Every unregistered business with South Sudan Revenue Authority, doing business without a Tax Identification Number, is doing so illegally and is a criminal offence,” the notice stated, citing sections 113 and 114 of the Taxation Act 2009 as amended. The Commissioner appealed to such businesses to register, obtain a TIN, file returns and pay their tax obligations without delay. Taxpayers were also instructed to update their contact information registered in the e-tax TIN system.
The push to recover unpaid taxes comes at a time when South Sudan faces severe fiscal pressure. The economy contracted by an estimated 24 percent in 2025, according to World Bank figures, while the International Monetary Fund projected a further contraction and inflation running at 65.7 percent. Public services remain heavily dependent on donor support, with international partners spending more on basic services than the government itself.
The South Sudan Revenue Authority has been working to widen the tax base and improve collections as oil revenues, the traditional mainstay of the national budget, face volatility. The domestic tax collection system has undergone a digital transformation in recent years through the introduction of the e-tax platform and the Domestic Tax Integrated System.
Commissioner Ajang closed the notice with a call for civic duty. The authority reminded taxpayers that meeting tax obligations supports national development and economic stability.