Rwanda presents the national budget for financial year 2023/24

Executive summary

On 15 June 2023, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning presented the Rwanda National Budget for the financial year 2023/2024, which focuses on "Accelerating economic recovery, climate change mitigation/adaptation and enhancing productive sectors for improved livelihood."

The key focus of the national budget is economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as safeguarding lives. It also seeks to implement measures that are aligned with mitigating and adapting to climate change while conserving the environment and enhancing productive sectors for improved livelihood.

Key priorities for the 2023/24 national budget include: strengthening the health system; increasing agriculture and livestock productivity; scaling up social protection coverage; improving the quality of education; creating employment opportunities through investment in public works; and providing support to micro, small, medium and large enterprises affected by COVID-19 through the economic recovery fund.

Other interventions will include: providing support for "Made in Rwanda" products; promoting digital technologies to improve service delivery; improving access to quality education; eradicating malnutrition and stunting; and strengthening disaster preparedness and management.

National budget preparation process

Rwanda's planning and budget process is coordinated at the central and local government levels. The process entails several steps, including public participation.

The process entails the following stages:

• Identifying national priorities (October to December)
• Preparing a national medium-term expenditure framework (January and February)
• Preparing an agency medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) and budget (February and March)
• Preparing and submitting the Finance Bill to Parliament (March to June)

Key priorities in 2023/24 fiscal year budget

Key expenditure priorities and resources allocations are set in line with the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) goals and the economic recovery policies.

The budget allocations in 2023/24 fiscal year were based on the key pillars of NST1, namely:

1. Economic transformation — to accelerate inclusive economic growth and development founded in the private sector, knowledge-based economy and Rwanda's natural resources. The areas under this pillar include:

• Enhancing agriculture productivity
  
  
• Improving private sector development and youth employment
  
  
• Protecting the environment and natural resources
  
  
• Strengthening the energy sector
  
  
• Promoting urbanization
  
  
• Accelerating transport projects
  
  
• Enhancing information communication and technology

2. Social transformation — to develop Rwandans into a capable and skilled work force with high-quality standards of living and a stable and secure society. The areas under this pillar include:

• Water and sanitation
  
  
• High-quality, accessible healthcare
  
  
• Improved education quality
  
  
• Social protection interventions
  
  
• Malnutrition interventions
  
  
• Family and gender promotion
  
  
• Sports and culture
  
  
• Disaster management

3. Transformational governance — to consolidate good governance and justice as building blocks for equitable and sustainable national development. The areas under this pillar include:

• Governance and decentralization
  
  
• Justice, reconciliation, and law and order
  
  
• Public finance management
  
  
• Financial sector development
  
  
• Foreign affairs and international cooperation

Budget summary

Financing of the budget

Budget expenditure

Tax policy reforms

The tax policy changes anticipated in FY 2023/24 are expected to achieve the following objectives:

• Sustain the economic recovery path
  
  
• Protect local producers
  
  
• Harmonize taxation with other partner states in the region
  
  
• Support the entire population to access basic needs
  
  
• Promote the "Made in Rwanda" policy
  
  
• Promote a cashless economy
  
  
• Fast-track the economic recovery in the aftermath of shocks
  
  
• Encourage a green economy

Anticipated policy changes include:

• Extended incentives on electric and hybrid vehicles and electric motorcycles to allow duty-free importation
  
  
• Extended exemption for construction materials under "Manufacture and Build to Recover Program" (MBRP)
  
  
• Extended exemption for luxury cars needed in the tourism sector for cars above USD 60,000 where anything above USD 60,000 will not attract any tax; imported cars will pay a 25% Common External Tariff import duty and all other relevant taxes up to the CIF value of USD 60,000
  
  
• Tax incentives for some strategic items by facilitating importation through the reduction of the import duty to a lesser rate or at a rate of zero

• Increased import duties on the importation of some products to protect local producers.
  
  The import duty for the below items will be increased from 25% to 35%:
  • Doors, windows, and their frames
  • Steel tubes
  • Wheelbarrows
  • Handbags with outer surface of sheeting of plastics or of textile material

For additional information with respect this Alert, please contact the following:

Ernst & Young (Kenya), Nairobi

• Francis Kamau
  
  
• Robert Maina

Ernst & Young Rwanda Limited, Kigali

• Stephen Sang
  
  
• Timothy Muriuki
  
  
• Emmanuel Rwigamba 
  
  
• Fabiola Ingabire

Published by NTD’s Tax Technical Knowledge Services group; Carolyn Wright, legal editor

For a full listing of contacts and email addresses, please click on the Tax News Update: Global Edition (GTNU) version of this Alert.