Taxation Services

The rapidly changing regulatory laws are creating complex situations for businesses, but proper planning can help you improve your cash flows and reduce tax burden. Work with Ahmed Ghattour & Co to enhance your tax opportunities and be more wise and strategic in your tax planning.

Ahmed Ghattour & Co helps businesses make sense of continually evolving issues related to Libyan tax laws so they can optimize their tax position. Ahmed Ghattour & Co offers clients a wide range of fully integrated tax services. Our approach combines insight from multiple resources to help your company excel in Libya.

Indirect Tax | Taxation Services

Management of indirect taxes requires a deep understanding of expanding tax bases and obligations. With the help of Ahmed Ghattour & Co you can get sustainable, valuable results and manage the liabilities and risks of your organization’s tax footprint. Ahmed Ghattour & Co ensures that you can gain following benefits from its indirect tax support services:

1. Indirect tax return preparation
2. Managed audits
3. Process improvement
4. Taxability determinations

Ahmed Ghattour & Co offers in-depth, up-to-date legal information of the relevant Libyan laws and regulations. Through collaboration with our professionals, Ahmed Ghattour & Co is able to provide you with effective solutions.

Ahmed Ghattour & Co gives you practical, focused and informed advice from our experienced tax experts. Together we’re dedicated to finding the best possible solutions for your business.

Corporate Business Tax | Taxation Services

Based in Tripoli, Libya, our trusted teams at Ahmed Ghattour & Co can prepare your corporate tax files and ruling requests, support you with accounting procedures, deferrals, and tax benefits.

Ahmed Ghattour & Co can help in a variety of ways including:

1. Preparing detailed tax reports
2. Providing accounting services related to income taxes
3. Advising you on the tax implications and corresponding with tax authorities on your behalf
4. Identifying opportunities to effectively manage your business taxes and risks
5. Reviewing and improving the effectiveness of your corporate tax planning

Tax Compliance

Ignoring or not complying with Libya tax laws can result in serious legal consequences and restrictions for your company’s by limiting your investment and growth opportunities. Thus, using a qualified Libyan tax adviser to help you with tax planning has many benefits. Ahmed Ghattour & Co will help you fully comply with Libyan taxation laws and regulations and navigate through complex legal environments while meeting your business goals. Tax services include:

1. Business tax compliance
2. Succession and exit tax planning
3. Tax investigations
4. Tax planning
5. Transaction services

Ahmed Ghattour & Co can guide you from the stage of tax filing to tax planning. For both multinational and local companies operating in Libya, accurate tax compliance is an instrumental piece. Thus, Ahmed Ghattour & Co helps its clients achieve their business goals in a tax-efficient manner.

Our range of services in the area of corporate taxation includes:

1. Corporate tax compliance services.
2. Advisory services in respect of tax implications of proposed business transactions.
3. Tax due diligence before M&A transactions in relation to the corporate income tax.
4. Representations before field tax authorities.

Principal Taxes

Our professionals at Ahmed Ghattour & Co can help you with detailed planning to ensure compliance with Libyan laws and regulations and optimize your overall tax advantages. There are five types of principal taxes in Libya:

1. Revenue duties
2. Corporate tax
3. Salaries and wages tax
4. Jehad tax
5. Withholding taxes

Taxation issues in Libya are important, particularly to the foreign investor. Rules are not always interpreted consistently and practices are prone to change with little notice. Further, significant changes to the tax legislation are being considered by the government. Local tax advice and assistance is therefore essential.

01 REVENUE DUTY

According to Law No. 7/2010, any contract negotiated in Libya for anything other than a direct supply must be registered with the tax department within 60 days of signing the contract.

This amounts to a 1% stamp tax on the value of the contract plus 0.05% on the 1% stamp tax. All invoices must bear the tax department’s stamp to show that the registration duty has been paid.

02 CORPORATION TAX

Corporate tax is charged under the Law No. 7 of (2010), previously Law 11 of (2004). This is performed in two stages:

1. Preliminary assessment
2. Final assessment

Corporate tax is set at a flat rate of 20% on all net profits. All companies are required to submit an annual tax declaration on their income to the tax department. The relevant form certified by an external auditor (Certified Libyan Accountant) should be submitted no later than four months following the end of the fiscal year.

ASSESSMENT PHASES

Companies are assessed to tax in two stages:

• A preliminary assessment when the company’s accounts are submitted and
• A final assessment when the tax department examines the accounts submitted (usually within two years of the submission of the accounts)

The taxpayer can accept the tax department’s assessments or can object. The objection can be made to:

• An arbitration committee or
• Court.

PENALTIES FOR LATE PAYMENT

• Tax which isn’t paid by due date becomes immediately due, together with all other taxes that may not yet be due for payment.
• Late payment is subject to a penalty of 1% per month on the amount due plus collection charges.

03 SALARIES AND WAGES TAX

Libyan salaries and wages tax applies to all salaries, wages, bonuses and benefits which arise from employment in Libya. Tax rates range from 5% to 10%.

Foreign nationals employed and paid in Libya can remit 50% of the net salary in foreign currency to his or her home country. Foreign companies choosing to pay their foreign nationals overseas may do so, but they are required to account for these payments and to deduct the Libyan tax due and pay it to the tax department.

04 JEHAD TAX

• This tax is payable under Law No. 44 of 1970 and is levied on personal incomes and corporation profits.

05 WITHHOLDING TAXES

• Government bodies withhold a stamp duty of 0.05% from all payments made by them.
• Further 0.2% is also payable on any “official receipt” including receipts for contract registration duties, corporate tax, personal tax, etc.