Lebanon: Tax and Customs Administration: An Urgent Need for Intervention
High-Level Summary Technical Assistance Reports, December 5, 2023
Source details
- Canonical URL
- Lebanon: Tax and Customs Administration: An Urgent Need for Intervention
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Bibliographic details
- Authors: Joshua Aslett, Frank Van Driessche, Robert Kokoli, John Middleton, Mohammad Al-Said
- Published: December 5, 2023
- Series: High-Level Summary Technical Assistance Reports
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400260841.029
Executive summary
- Provides an overview of guidance to Lebanon’s Ministry of Finance, its VAT and Revenue Directorates, and the Lebanese Customs Administration.
- Builds on prior IMF advice and conveys an urgent need for intervention to address:
- loss of staff; and
- a risk of failure with key IT operations in the respective agencies.
- Notes that an accompanying technical assistance report provides confirmation of broader reform and capacity development priorities for the next 36 months.
Key findings
- Urgent intervention is required across tax and customs agencies to prevent operational collapse.
- Two immediate operational risks identified:
- Significant loss of staff undermining institutional capacity.
- Risk of failure of key IT operations critical to agency functions.
- The accompanying technical assistance report validates and prioritizes reform and capacity development needs over a 36-month horizon.
Intended recipients and scope of guidance
- Targeted agencies:
- Lebanon’s Ministry of Finance.
- VAT Directorate.
- Revenue Directorate.
- Lebanese Customs Administration.
- Scope: operational stabilization, IT continuity, staff retention and capacity development, and broader reform sequencing over the next 36 months.
Content in this bundle
- Hlsea202320