Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The Commissioner General of South Sudan Revenue Authority (SSRA), Simon Akuei Deng, has revealed that the agency is close to attaining 90% digitization of the country’s taxation system as part of tax reform.
Mr. Akuei disclosed the development at the First National Trade Forum 2025 organized by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Juba on Thursday.
He said the revenue agency is determined to ensure that loopholes in the taxation system are addressed, particularly on the elimination of tax evasion and smuggling goods into the country.
“Sooner or later, we will be at 90% digitized or automated in our tax collections. So it is important to note that those who come to your companies, especially in Juba, to say, ‘Pay me money!’, those are thieves,” Akuei said.
“Money is being paid in the banks, not to people, not to boxes and not in cash. Taxes are being paid directly to the banks in Juba, and we have digitized about 80% of our taxes today. They are not collected again in the boxes.”
He underscored setbacks on the implementation of digitization in some places where there are no functioning commercial banks at the border. Akuei said these areas including Oror, Gok-machar, and Yambio, could be excused since there is no commercial bank presence closer to the collection centers.
He called on taxpayers to deposit taxes into bank accounts and not to individual tax collectors, especially in places where there is a presence of commercial banks.
“What is yet to be digitized is where we do not have the banks; some of the states don’t have commercial banks; some of the borders don’t have commercial banks, but where there is a bank, payment is done according to the systems.”
Meanwhile, the SSRA Commissioner-General said that the government has so far spent 1.2 billion South Sudanese pounds fighting illegal roadblocks across the country.
He acknowledged the challenges faced in fighting such illegal practices, especially along Juba-Nimule highway where most of the illegal tax collection points are present.
He further said they have managed to reduce the number of illegal roadblocks along the Juba-Nimule Road.
“For three months, we have spent more than 1.2 billion SSP to fight the roadblocks; it is not an easy job. Our CDF is the chairperson of the committee that removes all the non-tariff barriers that are on the road, and you might have seen on the Nimule road that they have reduced.”
“We have not eliminated them all because some of them stay in the bush where there is no town, and when they hear the truck sounds coming, they just jump into the road, and they put up the rope, but still it is being fought. We have two vehicles moving along the road, and when they are found, they are arrested.”
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