Togo's tax authority, the Office Togolais des Recettes (OTR), collected 1.36 billion CFA francs in Motor Vehicle Tax (TVM) during the first quarter of 2025. This figure, reviewed by Togo First and sourced from the General Directorate of Budget and Finance (DGBF), marks a slight 0.56% increase from the 1.35 billion CFA francs collected in the same period of 2024.

The amount collected represents 40% of the annual TVM forecast, which is 3.39 billion CFA francs. This modest increase reflects a consistent upward trend in recent years, primarily due to stricter adherence to the tax schedule.

Since 2024, the OTR has intensified its enforcement of TVM payments, eliminating extensions. Authorities now emphasize full compliance with the payment window outlined in the General Tax Code, which sets March 31 as the annual deadline.

Officials attribute the improved performance partly to streamlined payment procedures, especially the launch of an online payment platform in January 2024. This platform has made it easier for taxpayers to comply.

The TVM applies to all motor vehicles registered in Togo. Fees range from 5,000 to 40,000 CFA francs, depending on the vehicle type. This includes motorcycles with engine capacities of 125cc or more, tricycles, utility vehicles, trucks, buses, and heavy-duty carriers.

Although the official deadline is March 31, collections continue beyond this date. The tax, introduced in January 2019, is allocated to the Société Autonome de Financement de l’Entretien Routier (SAFER), which is responsible for maintaining Togo's road infrastructure.

Esaïe Edoh

The Togolese Revenue Office (OTR) collected 258.06 billion CFA francs in tax revenue during the first quarter of 2025. This marks a 5.81% increase compared to the 243.89 billion CFA francs collected in the same period of 2024, according to figures from the Directorate General of Budget and Finance reviewed by Togo First.

Despite this positive trend, the amount collected by the end of March represents only 21.36% of the annual target, which is set at 1,208.36 billion CFA francs.

Driving Revenue Growth

The revenue increase is partly due to a rise in corporate income tax (IS) collections, which reached 31.47 billion CFA francs, up 15.31% from 27.30 billion in the same period last year. A broadened tax base has supported this trend.

Additionally, the introduction of a new tax on telecommunications and information technology companies (TETTIC) under the 2025 Finance Law contributed to the revenue growth. This levy, set at 5% of telecom operators’ pre-tax turnover, generated 1.30 billion CFA francs by the end of March 2025.

The tax authority attributes this performance to several structural reforms. These include implementing the revised ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET) within the SYDONIA customs system, stricter territorial surveillance, and reinforced tax and customs controls.

In 2024, OTR mobilized 1,098 billion CFA francs in revenue. The target for 2025 is 1,208.36 billion CFA francs.

Esaïe Edoh

The European Union is providing €10 million in new funding to four West African coastal countries including Togo, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, and Ghana. This support aims to address the increasing migration pressure stemming from conflicts in the central Sahel region.

According to UNHCR, this funding is part of the regional "Unity" initiative. It is designed to assist forcibly displaced individuals, particularly those fleeing Burkina Faso, as well as the host communities in the northern regions of these countries.

The project, set to run for two years, will be implemented by four UN agencies (UNHCR, IOM, UNICEF, and WFP). They'll work in close coordination with national authorities, especially Togo's, and local partners.

The initiative has a dual objective. It aims to meet immediate humanitarian needs, and it also seeks to lay the groundwork for inclusive and sustainable development. Key areas of intervention include improving access to education, healthcare, decent housing, income-generating activities, and strengthening local food systems.

This European facility will bolster the ongoing efforts by governments and civil society, including Togo's PURS program, particularly in the northern parts of the country. The goal is to preserve social cohesion in these localities and in border zones that are exposed to security risks.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

The image was striking. An American business leader sat before Togolese authorities, declaring confidence in a country where his group had never before established an industrial presence. On Wednesday, June 18, Charlie Komar, CEO of the eponymous group, was in Lomé to inaugurate the first African factory of Star Garments. This textile subsidiary belongs to the U.S.-based company.

The project, named "Renaissance Togo," is driven by Asian expertise, multilateral finance, and an ambitious national industrialization strategy.

A Conviction Built on the Ground

"This decision was no accident. We saw here a rising nation, a government focused on stability, modern infrastructure, and an investor-friendly policy," Charlie Komar stated before the Chairman of the Council, attending ministers, and representatives of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the project’s financial partner. "We saw a skilled, motivated, and proud workforce ready to build, to create, to innovate."

For the head of this century-old family business, whose industrial history spans wars and global shifts, people make the difference. "This factory is not just made of machines. What matters here is human energy, ingenuity, passion. It is living software, built to the highest global quality standards."

Located in the Adétikopé Industrial Platform (PIA), the Star Garments factory spans 3.7 hectares. It currently employs 304 people, with a goal of reaching 2,000 direct jobs and 4,520 direct and indirect jobs by 2030. More than 60 to 70 percent of these jobs are intended for women.

"Starting tomorrow, we will produce garments here that will be worn around the world," Komar emphasized. "But more than that, we will build a future. Thousands of jobs, broad opportunities for women and youth, and a new chapter in West Africa’s textile excellence."

A Project Born from Cross Continental Dialogue

The initiative originated from a meeting between Sri Lankan industrialist Arumugampillai Sukumaran, CEO of Star Garments Group, and his American partner. Starting in 2019, they explored several countries across Africa and Asia. "We visited Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Benin, Bangladesh," Sukumaran said. "But it was in Togo that we found an efficient port ecosystem, clear political will, and an ability to tell a story our competitors could not match."

This shared vision convinced Komar to invest, an ambition the IFC actively chose to support. "A stable job is the surest path out of poverty and a guarantee of social cohesion," noted Olivier Buyoya, the institution’s regional director for West Africa.

"We believe in Togo and all it has to offer. And we ask for everyone’s support in this room to make that vision a reality," Sukumaran concluded. For Komar, the factory stands as a model, representing a successful collaboration among the state, private investors, and technical and financial partners.

The commitment has been made, and it is built for the long term. "This is only the beginning," the group’s leaders promised.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

Key Highlights

• IFAD conducts a mission to assess the Agricultural Finance Mechanism Support Project (ProMIFA).
• The evaluation focuses on 2025 goals, financial management, and environmental safeguards.
• ProMIFA targets improved access to finance for smallholder farmers and rural enterprises.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is conducting an evaluation mission in Togo to assess progress on the Agricultural Finance Mechanism Support Project (ProMIFA), aimed at improving access to financial services for smallholder farmers and rural enterprises.

A delegation led by Mathieu Faujas, IFAD’s agricultural economist and technical mission leader, arrived in Lomé on June 16. The mission, scheduled to conclude on June 27, will review the project’s implementation in line with recommendations from a previous assessment in March.

The team will examine activities under the 2025 Annual Work Plan and Budget, assess compliance with environmental and social safeguards, and evaluate financial management and procurement processes.

IFAD said the review aims to identify challenges, enhance operational performance, and provide recommendations to accelerate project delivery. The mission will also engage with national stakeholders and conduct field visits to gauge beneficiary engagement and on-the-ground impact.

Launched in February 2020 under the MIFA program, ProMIFA focuses on expanding financial access for small-scale farmers and rural micro, small, and medium enterprises through risk-sharing mechanisms.

This article was initially published in French by Esaïe Edoh

 Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum

Key Highlights:

• Starting July 1, 2025, all fuel trucks leaving Togo's petroleum terminals must submit detailed customs declarations before departure.
• The reform aims to improve fuel traceability, combat smuggling, and enhance fiscal governance using the Sydonia World digital platform.
• The measure coincides with a broader government campaign to mark petroleum products and clamp down on illegal distribution networks.

Togo will tighten customs controls on fuel transport starting July 1, 2025, as part of a broader crackdown on smuggling and opaque fuel distribution networks.

Under a new directive from the Togolese Revenue Office (OTR), every truck carrying petroleum products from the Société Togolaise d'Entreposage (STE) or the Société Togolaise des Stockages de Lomé (STSL) must complete a detailed customs declaration before leaving either terminal.

The measure is designed to improve the traceability of fuel flows via the Sydonia World digital platform, a regional tool for managing customs operations. Petroleum depots must transmit these declarations to the Division of Customs Operations for Hydrocarbons and Refining (DODH-R), a specialized branch within the OTR.

The DODH-R will be responsible for monitoring, validating, and managing all administrative processes linked to fuel movements. Officials say the policy aims to close loopholes that allow discrepancies between declared and delivered fuel volumes.

The initiative is part of Togo’s fiscal modernization strategy and broader efforts to enhance transparency in the energy sector. It follows recent government plans to introduce chemical marking of fuel to detect fraud and eliminate parallel distribution channels.

This article was initially published in French by Esaïe Edoh

Edited in English by Ola Schad Akinocho