DRC Electronic Fiscal Devices (EFD): Compliance Guide

← Back to Bulletin

Last reviewed: October 2, 2026

The Direction Generale des Impots (DGI) has rolled out electronic fiscal devices — dispositifs electroniques fiscaux (DEF) — across the DRC in dated stages: the obligation to issue, and to require, a facture normalisee has applied to taxpayers liable to TVA since 1 December 2025. For businesses in Kinshasa and the provinces, full compliance is no longer optional. Enforcement is intensifying and penalties are substantial.

What Are Electronic Fiscal Devices?

Electronic Fiscal Devices are certified point-of-sale machines that record sales transactions in real time and transmit data directly to the DGI’s tax administration system. They generate compliant fiscal receipts (recus fiscaux) required for both TVA and income tax purposes.

The DRC’s EFD rollout follows similar programmes already implemented in Rwanda (EBM system), Kenya (TIMS), and Tanzania — part of a continent-wide move toward real-time tax monitoring and paperless fiscal infrastructure.

Who Must Comply?

The obligation to require and to deliver a facture normalisee issued by a dispositif electronique fiscal (DEF) took effect on 1 December 2025 for taxpayers liable to TVA, under the practical modalities set out in DGI official communique no. 05. It rests on Ordonnance-loi no. 10/001 of 20 August 2010 instituting the TVA, with the operating framework for the facture normalisee and the use of dispositifs electroniques fiscaux set by Decret no. 23-010 of 3 March 2023, together with ministerial orders 032 to 035 and ministerial circulars no. 004 and no. 005 of 30 December 2024. The rollout proceeded in dated stages: a first phase from September 2024 confined to selected taxpayers of the Direction des Grandes Entreprises and the Centre des Impots des Moyennes Entreprises; the launch of generalisation, the homologation procedure for systemes de facturation d’entreprise (SFE) and the date-of-effect notice in October 2025 (communiques no. 01/039, no. 01/040 and no. 01/050); registration on the e-DEF platform in November 2025 (no. 01/057); the taxation-group update required in February 2026 (no. 01/010); and the first official list of approved DEF suppliers, homologated SFE systems and duly homologated DEF published in April 2026. On the DGI’s own statement of scope, the issuance obligation covers:

• Private enterprises
• Non-governmental organisations
• The actors executing public expenditure at central government, provincial and decentralised territorial entity level
• Public enterprises, public establishments and other public bodies

Practical Compliance Steps

Businesses that have not yet deployed compliant EFD devices must act immediately. The process involves:

• Registration with a DGI-approved EFD supplier
• Device configuration and integration with your accounting or POS system
• Staff training on receipt issuance protocols and daily reconciliation
• Monthly reconciliation of EFD transaction data with TVA declarations

Failure to comply exposes businesses to fiscal penalties, and the exposure is significant. The rates and sanctions currently in force should be confirmed with the DGI, or through your adviser, before relying on any estimate.

Impact on TVA Reconciliation

With EFD in place, monthly TVA declarations must align exactly with EFD transaction data transmitted to the DGI. This creates new reconciliation requirements — particularly where sales mix EFD and non-EFD channels (such as intercompany invoicing or government contracts).

ValidWave Consulting assists clients in DRC with EFD implementation project management, TVA reconciliation procedures, and DGI audit preparation.