Chamwe Kaira
The Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) is strengthening its ability to identify tax risks and revenue opportunities in the country’s extractives sector as mining, oil and gas investments continue to grow.
According to the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) 2025 Annual Report, Namibia was among 35 African countries that received technical assistance in areas such as transfer pricing, exchange of information, extractive sector taxation and measures to combat illicit financial flows.
The report said Namibia participated in ATAF’s specialised programme on the taxation of the extractive sector. The programme aims to improve technical knowledge of tax issues linked to mining and other extractive industries.
ATAF said the extractives sector offers major revenue opportunities for governments but also presents complex compliance challenges.
The organisation noted that tax authorities often face issues such as large VAT refund claims, high exploration and development costs, and aggressive tax planning practices by companies operating in the sector.
According to the report, NamRA currently relies mainly on manual processes to select audit cases and measure compliance. This limits its ability to assess risks across the sector.
ATAF said its support focused on helping NamRA officials better understand tax risks in the extractives industry, how the sector’s value chain operates and the challenges involved in enforcing compliance.
The programme also allowed NamRA officials to exchange experiences with tax administrations from other African countries that faced similar challenges.
“Although no new tool or reform was introduced immediately, the programme significantly enhanced NamRA’s sectoral knowledge and analytical perspective,” the report said.
ATAF said the knowledge gained is already helping to improve audit planning and identify cases suitable for detailed audits under NamRA’s current system.
“The engagement strengthened NamRA’s understanding of both the revenue risks and long-term revenue potential of the extractives sector, laying a foundation for more effective compliance enforcement in the future,” ATAF stated.
The report comes as Namibia’s mining, oil and gas industries continue to attract international investors, placing greater focus on the need for stronger oversight of multinational companies and complex cross-border transactions.
Across the continent, ATAF carried out 134 technical assistance missions in 35 countries during 2025.
The support covered transfer pricing, exchange of information, extractive sector taxation and efforts to combat illicit financial flows.
ATAF said its work helped generate US$907.8 million in new tax assessments during the year, while US$685.8 million was successfully collected.
The organisation also reported that Southern Africa had the highest participation in its training programmes, with 1 219 officials accounting for half of all trainees during the year.
