Congo, Democratic Republic of the

Investment Code

The Investments Code allows for a certain number of tax, customs, and general order measures designed to favour direct investments (notably a CIT holiday during a defined investment period that would differ depending on the location of the investments). The preferential tax treatment measures of the Investments Code apply to direct investments and/or to entities that carry them out.

The regime of the Investments Code does not apply to numerous sectors, notably:

• Mining and hydrocarbon.
• Banking and insurance.
• Trade.

In order to take advantage of the provisions of the Investments Code, the following conditions must be fulfilled by the investor:

• The investor must be a Congolese legal entity.
• The investment must be at least USD 200,000.
• The investing company must comply with the rules and regulations relating to the environment.
• The investing company must undertake to train local personnel in technical and executive duties.
• The investing company must undertake to create an added value of 35% of its initial investment (within a stipulated time period to be agreed).

The application file is examined by the National Agency for the Promotion of Investments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (ANAPI) and then sent to the Minister of Finance, who decides on the grant of the advantages foreseen in the Investments Code to the applicant, by the way of a Ministerial Order.

Mining

The Mining Code, completed by the Mining Regulations, sets out a preferential customs and fiscal regime that deviates on some important points from the standard regime.

The tax rules set up by the Mining Code are supposed to be exhaustive, exclusive (it provides for all the taxes and customs duties owed to the Treasury by eligible entities, to the exclusion of any other form of taxation), and stable. This regime applies to all holders of a mining title or career, or for which a mining title or career is established, as well as to (i) affiliated companies carrying out mining activities and (ii) sub-contractors carrying out mining activities resulting exclusively from contracts concluded with the bearer of the mining title.

Among other tax preferential features of the Mining Code, the following apply:

• Absence, under conditions, of WHT on interest paid in relation to loans denominated in foreign currency and concluded abroad.
• A reduced 10% WHT rate for dividends.
• Exceptional tax for expatriates' remuneration set at 12.5% for the first ten years of the project and 25% for the remaining period.
• A possibility to deduct some specific provisions.

The holder of a mining licence is also liable to mining royalties, computed on the basis of the amount of sales minus the cost of transport, analysis in relation to the quality control of the commercial product for sale, insurance, and cost relating to the sale transaction.

Hydrocarbons

The tax regime of oil companies is mainly provided in the production-sharing contracts as well as in the Ordinance-Law 081-013 of 2 April 1981 bearing general regulations regarding Mining and Hydrocarbon.

The tax regime of oil companies is defined by the Law 15/012, dated 1 August 2015, pertaining to the general regime of Hydrocarbon.

Foreign tax credit

No specific provision relating to foreign tax credits is provided for in DRC law.

The tax treaties for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on incomes between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa, and between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Belgium, have been effectively implemented.