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Botswana e-Invoicing
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Botswana has legislated e-invoicing, but nothing binds yet. The Tax Administration Act, 2026 and the Value Added Tax Act, 2026, both in force from 1 July 2026, require taxpayers to issue electronic invoices through a billing system approved by BURS. Regulations delay that system by nine months, to 1 April 2027.
Previous
5 February 2024
Pilot phase of the e-billing project reported to Parliament
Latest
1 July 2026
Botswana enacts a mandatory electronic invoicing duty
Next
1 April 2027
Electronic billing system due to commence
Botswana e-Invoicing Overview
B2B
planned
No e-invoicing obligation applies to businesses today. Section 15 of the Tax Administration Act, 2026 requires a taxpayer who supplies goods, renders services or receives payment for them to issue an electronic invoice using an electronic billing system, which section 2 defines as a billing system approved by the Revenue Service for issuing electronic invoices and for recording and transmitting sales and related data. Section 59 (8) of the Value Added Tax Act, 2026 places the same duty on registered persons issuing tax invoices, and section 60 (4) extends it to tax credit and debit notes. Both Acts commenced on 1 July 2026, but regulation 34 of the Tax Administration Regulations, 2026 delays the electronic billing system itself to nine months after that date, 1 April 2027. BURS has published no technical specification and no list of approved systems.
B2G
planned
Supplies to government carry no separate e-invoicing rule and no separate date. Section 15 of the Tax Administration Act, 2026 is drafted by reference to the taxpayer making the supply rather than to the recipient, so an invoice to a ministry or a public entity falls under the same electronic billing system obligation, from the same start. On the VAT side, regulation 19 of the Value Added Tax Regulations, 2026 required Government entities and large unregistered persons to apply for registration from 1 August 2026, which concerns accounting for reverse charged supplies rather than invoicing.
B2C
planned
Consumer sales are caught by the same provision and the same date. Section 15 of the Tax Administration Act, 2026 draws no line between business and consumer recipients, and it reaches a taxpayer who receives payment for goods supplied or services rendered as well as one who supplies them. One narrow relief sits on the VAT side: under section 59 (2) of the Value Added Tax Act, 2026 and paragraph 7 of Schedule 5, a registered person need not provide a tax invoice where the total consideration is in cash and does not exceed P20. Nothing is enforceable until the electronic billing system commences.
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Implementation Timeline(9 events)
Key mandate dates. Select a date for detail, or show all updates below.
Pilot phase of the e-billing project reported to Parliament
5 February 2024
All
Paragraph 79 of the 2024 Budget Speech reported that BURS was implementing Electronic Invoicing (E-Billing) for efficient VAT collection, with the first phase of the project, which it labels the Pilot, scheduled for completion in December 2024. BURS schedules the wider Electronic VAT Invoicing Solution from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2026 in its 2025/2026 Annual Business Plan .
Electronic VAT Invoicing Solution set out in the 2025 Budget Speech
10 February 2025
All
2026 Budget Speech expects an April 2026 rollout
9 February 2026
Legislative
Paragraph 114 of the 2026 Budget Speech recorded that the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Act of 2025 mandates electronic invoicing, and put the rollout at April 2026. Paragraph 115 announced that a Value Added Tax Bill, an Income Tax Bill, a Customs Amendment Bill and a new Tax Administration Bill would be tabled that month. No system started in April; the Acts tabled that February set the start nine months after their own commencement instead.
National Assembly passes the Tax Administration Act and the Value Added Tax Act
13 April 2026
Legislative
VAT on remote services takes effect
1 June 2026
All
The remote services charge introduced by the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Act, 2025, the same Act the Minister credited with mandating electronic invoicing, came into force on 1 June 2026 . Non-resident suppliers must register and charge VAT, and local registered businesses and certain Government entities self-account under the reverse charge.
Commencement orders published
30 June 2026
Legislative
Statutory Instrument No. 91 of 2026 set the Tax Administration Act to commence on 1 July 2026, and Statutory Instrument No. 95 of 2026 did the same for the Value Added Tax Act , excepting only four provisions on inbound tourism and gig or share economy platforms. Neither exception touches invoicing.
Electronic invoicing duty enters the statute book
1 July 2026
All
Section 15 of the Tax Administration Act, 2026 and section 59 (8) of the Value Added Tax Act, 2026 came into operation, both published in Supplement A to the Extraordinary Gazette of 1 July 2026. Sections 100 and 112 of the Tax Administration Act carry the penalties for failing to use the system or misusing it.
Electronic billing system due to commence
1 April 2027
All
Regulation 34 of the Tax Administration Regulations, 2026 (Statutory Instrument No. 90 of 2026) provides that the electronic billing system shall commence nine months from the date of commencement of the Tax Administration Act , which fell on 1 July 2026. BURS has not yet published an implementation notice.
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Real-time reporting
No clearance applies, and none is legislated. The Tax Administration Act, 2026 defines an electronic billing system as a billing system approved by the Revenue Service used for the issuance of an electronic invoice and for recording and transmitting sales and related data, and an electronic invoice as an invoice issued through such a system. Nothing in the Act asks BURS to authorise a document before it is issued: approval attaches to the system, and the reporting duty is met as the system records and transmits sales data. Presenting the reform to the National Assembly, the Minister of Finance said the rollout "will enable real time transaction monitoring, strengthen compliance, reduce leakages and significantly enhance revenue assurance" . Section 127 (1) (d) lets the Minister make regulations on the use of the system; none prescribing a format, a network or an approved-system list has been published.
Standards
N/A
Record-keeping & Reporting
Archiving
Eight years after the end of the tax period to which the records relate, under section 14 of the Tax Administration Act, 2026 , or a shorter period where the tax law requiring the records sets one. The period runs on where an assessment may still be amended, an assessed loss is not yet fully offset, or an audit or proceeding is under way, capped at five further years. Records must be in English or Setswana, or translated at the taxpayer's expense on notice, and the Commissioner General may require a class of taxpayers to keep records electronically in a specified format.
SAF-T
Not required
N/A
Technical Formats
N/A
Penalties
Failure to use the electronic billing system
Failure to issue an electronic invoice
Fraudulent use of the electronic billing system
Using the system in a way that misleads the Commissioner General, issuing an electronic invoice that is false or incorrect in any material particular, or tampering with the system is an offence under section 112 of the Tax Administration Act, 2026 , carrying a fine not exceeding P100,000 or imprisonment for up to two years, or both.
Temporary closure of business premises
Where a taxpayer fails to comply with the requirements of the electronic billing system, section 48 of the Tax Administration Act, 2026 lets the Commissioner General close part or all of the business premises for up to 14 days, after a notice giving the taxpayer seven days to put sufficient measures in place.
Exemptions
Small cash supplies
Reverse charged supplies
Gambling supplies
Below the VAT registration threshold
Compulsory VAT registration applies at annual taxable turnover above P1,000,000, under section 12 (2) of the Value Added Tax Act, 2026 read with paragraph 2 of Schedule 5. The electronic billing duty in section 15 of the Tax Administration Act, 2026 is expressed for taxpayers rather than for registered persons, and no threshold or class exclusion has been prescribed for it.
Latest Update
New Mandate
1 Jul 2026Botswana enacts a mandatory electronic invoicing duty
The Tax Administration Act, 2026 and the Value Added Tax Act, 2026 came into operation on 1 July 2026. Section 15 of the Tax Administration Act requires a taxpayer who supplies goods, renders services or receives payment for them to issue an electronic invoice using an electronic billing system approved by the Revenue Service, and section 59 (8) of the Value Added Tax Act places the same duty on registered persons issuing tax invoices. Penalties run to P10,000 a month for failing to use the system and P100,000 or two years for tampering with it. Regulation 34 of the Tax Administration Regulations, 2026 holds the system itself back to nine months from commencement, 1 April 2027.
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Frequently asked questions about e-Invoicing in Botswana
e-Invoicing is currently planned for future implementation for B2B and planned for future implementation for B2G transactions in Botswana.
B2B e-Invoicing in Botswana is planned for future implementation. No e-invoicing obligation applies to businesses today. Section 15 of the Tax Administration Act, 2026 requires a taxpayer who supplies goods, renders services or receives payment for them to issue an electronic invoice using an electronic billing system, which section 2 defines as a billing system approved by the Revenue Service for issuing electronic invoices and for recording and transmitting sales and related data. Section 59 (8) of the Value Added Tax Act, 2026 places the same duty on registered persons issuing tax invoices, and section 60 (4) extends it to tax credit and debit notes. Both Acts commenced on 1 July 2026, but regulation 34 of the Tax Administration Regulations, 2026 delays the electronic billing system itself to nine months after that date, 1 April 2027. BURS has published no technical specification and no list of approved systems.
B2G e-Invoicing in Botswana is planned for future implementation. Supplies to government carry no separate e-invoicing rule and no separate date. Section 15 of the Tax Administration Act, 2026 is drafted by reference to the taxpayer making the supply rather than to the recipient, so an invoice to a ministry or a public entity falls under the same electronic billing system obligation, from the same start. On the VAT side, regulation 19 of the Value Added Tax Regulations, 2026 required Government entities and large unregistered persons to apply for registration from 1 August 2026, which concerns accounting for reverse charged supplies rather than invoicing.
Botswana supports the following e-Invoice formats: N/A.
Botswana uses the following e-Invoicing standards: N/A. Archiving requirement: Eight years after the end of the tax period to which the records relate, under section 14 of the Tax Administration Act, 2026 , or a shorter period where the tax law requiring the records sets one. The period runs on where an assessment may still be amended, an assessed loss is not yet fully offset, or an audit or proceeding is under way, capped at five further years. Records must be in English or Setswana, or translated at the taxpayer's expense on notice, and the Commissioner General may require a class of taxpayers to keep records electronically in a specified format.
No clearance applies, and none is legislated. The Tax Administration Act, 2026 defines an electronic billing system as a billing system approved by the Revenue Service used for the issuance of an electronic invoice and for recording and transmitting sales and related data, and an electronic invoice as an invoice issued through such a system. Nothing in the Act asks BURS to authorise a document before it is issued: approval attaches to the system, and the reporting duty is met as the system records and transmits sales data. Presenting the reform to the National Assembly, the Minister of Finance said the rollout "will enable real time transaction monitoring, strengthen compliance, reduce leakages and significantly enhance revenue assurance" . Section 127 (1) (d) lets the Minister make regulations on the use of the system; none prescribing a format, a network or an approved-system list has been published.
Botswana has penalties for e-Invoicing non-compliance. Failure to use the electronic billing system: A taxpayer who fails to use an electronic billing system without reasonable cause is liable for a fixed monetary penalty of P10,000 for each month or part of a month from the date the person was required to use it, under section 100 (1) of the Tax Administration Act, 2026; Failure to issue an electronic invoice: A taxpayer who fails to issue an electronic invoice for a sale of goods or services is liable to a penalty not exceeding P10,000, under section 100 (2) of the Tax Administration Act, 2026; Fraudulent use of the electronic billing system: Using the system in a way that misleads the Commissioner General, issuing an electronic invoice that is false or incorrect in any material particular, or tampering with the system is an offence under section 112 of the Tax Administration Act, 2026, carrying a fine not exceeding P100,000 or imprisonment for up to two years, or both; and 1 more.
The next e-Invoicing deadline in Botswana is 1 April 2027: Electronic billing system due to commence. Regulation 34 of the Tax Administration Regulations, 2026 (Statutory Instrument No. 90 of 2026) provides that the electronic billing system shall commence nine months from the date of commencement of the Tax Administration Act, which fell on 1 July 2026.
B2C e-Invoicing in Botswana is planned for future implementation. Consumer sales are caught by the same provision and the same date. Section 15 of the Tax Administration Act, 2026 draws no line between business and consumer recipients, and it reaches a taxpayer who receives payment for goods supplied or services rendered as well as one who supplies them. One narrow relief sits on the VAT side: under section 59 (2) of the Value Added Tax Act, 2026 and paragraph 7 of Schedule 5, a registered person need not provide a tax invoice where the total consideration is in cash and does not exceed P20. Nothing is enforceable until the electronic billing system commences.
Exemptions from Botswana e-Invoicing may apply to: Small cash supplies, Reverse charged supplies, Gambling supplies. Check specific criteria as exemptions vary by transaction type and business size.