Current VAT rates

The Tunisian tax system applies three main VAT rates. Understanding which rate applies to each activity is essential for compliant invoicing.

Standard rate — 19%

This is the default rate. It applies to the majority of goods and services: IT equipment, office supplies, consulting services, catering, hotel accommodation (excluding specific categories).

Reduced rate — 13%

This intermediate rate applies to certain specific activities, including tourism-related services, certain professional equipment and categories of services defined by the Finance Act.

Super-reduced rate — 7%

This rate applies to essential goods and certain basic services: staple food products, medicines, passenger transport, and certain agriculture-related operations.

Exemptions

Certain operations are fully exempt from VAT in Tunisia:

Exports of goods and services (with right to deduction)
Banking and insurance operations (subject to other taxes)
Medical and paramedical activities
Education (under certain conditions)
Operations in regional development zones (specific tax advantages)

Consumption duty and fiscal stamp

In addition to VAT, certain invoices must include consumption duty (DC) on specific products, as well as the fiscal stamp. The 1 TND stamp duty applies to invoices exceeding a certain amount, with exceptions (exports, government, etc.).

The fiscal stamp in VIA ERP

VIA ERP automatically calculates and applies the fiscal stamp on relevant invoices and documents. The system manages exceptions (export, exempt customer) and clearly displays the stamp line on the printed document.

Withholding tax

The Tunisian system provides for withholding tax on certain payments:

1.5% for fees, commissions and brokerage
5% for rent and certain service provisions
10% for contracts exceeding certain thresholds
15% on fees paid to non-residents

VIA ERP allows you to configure withholding rates per supplier and applies them automatically when recording purchase invoices.

Monthly VAT return

Businesses subject to VAT in Tunisia must file a monthly return. This summarises:

Output VAT collected on the month's sales
Input VAT deductible on the month's purchases
The credit or amount payable
Withholding tax suffered and applied

VAT credit carry-forward

When deductible VAT exceeds collected VAT, the business has a carry-forward VAT credit. The credit reads out of your VAT reports month by month; carrying it from one return to the next stays your decision and your action.

Managing VAT with VIA ERP

VIA ERP calculates VAT and keeps the record of it. It does not file your return for you:

Tax positions — Assign the correct tax position to each customer and supplier. The system automatically determines applicable rates.
Automatic calculation — Each invoice line calculates VAT at the correct rate based on the product, customer and tax position.
The legal code is frozen — The rate, its official code and its effective date are stored on the line at the moment the document is written, and do not move afterwards.
Fiscal reports — Extractable datasets, each stating the date basis it selected on and what it reconciles. This is the raw material of your return.

Conclusion

Mastering Tunisian VAT is a daily challenge for every business. With a properly configured ERP, rate errors and stamp omissions become rare, and every line keeps the rate and code it was written under. The monthly return itself stays your action: the screen exists in VIA ERP and remains disabled, and electronic filing is waiting on the official Tunisian formats being published. You prepare the return with VIA ERP's data, and you file it the way you do today.