Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Too l PREPARING FOR A TADAT ASSESSMENT

Assessment team leader Responsible for preparing the team, assigning roles and communicating with the authorities. Responsible for ensuring the quality of the Performance Assessment Report (PAR) and presenting it to the authorities. 3 to 4 trained assessors Will be assigned to take the lead in discussions for different POAs and responsible for writing parts of the report. Analysts to help with data collection The team may include a few analysts to help with data collection, evidence gathering and analysis under the supervision of the trained assessors. Who does the assessment?

Phases of activity Initiation phase Pre- assessment Assessment visit Post- assessment The main assessment work happens during this phase. Lasts 2-3 weeks. Planning and preparation phase. Begins 6-8 weeks prior to the in- country visit. Review and finalize Performance Assessment Report (PAR). Formal request from country authorities to the sponsoring organization or the TADAT Secretariat

Formal request from the country authorities Typically a letter from the minister responsible for tax administration to a sponsoring agency or to the TADAT Secretariat Sponsoring agency forwards letter to the TADAT Secretariat for coordination TADAT Secretariat informs all TADAT partners Minimizes duplication of effort and encourages collaboration Encourages fielding mixed teams of trained assessors from different technical assistance providers Facilitates better collaboration between development partner in prioritizing support to the country post-assessment Phases: Initiation

Formal Communication from team leader to client country Communicate with minister responsible for Tax Administration. Establish a counterpart within the tax administration for ongoing communication with the team. Communicate with sponsors and TADAT Secretariat Communicate with sponsors that contributed to the country’s decision to undergo a TADAT assessment. Communicate with TADAT Secretariat about the proposed assessment. Logistics, assessment dates, schedule Communicate with tax administration about logistics and assessment dates. Send the pre-assessment questionnaire and a proposed assessment schedule. Phases: Pre-Assessment

TADAT questionnaire Sent 3 weeks prior to the start of assessment. Requests for numerical data and other information critical to the TADAT process. Requests annual reports and other relevant documents. Country background research The team gathers background information on the country: Websites of the tax administration and other related agencies. Economic, political and social indicators. Technical Assistance reports of development partners. Phases: Pre-Assessment FIELD GUIDE – Appendix 2 TADAT Questionnaire In preparation for the TADAT assessment to be undertaken from [date] to [date] it would be appreciated if the following general information and numerical data could be provided to the assessment team by [date]. Part I of this questionnaire requests a number of documents that are commonly prepared by tax administrations. These documents will assist the assessment team in familiarizing itself with the system of tax administration operating in [country]. Part II requests numerical data needed to compute a range of performance-related measures in areas such as filing, payment, collection, and so on. Part I: Documents Please provide the following key documents:  The tax administration’s two most recent annual reports.  The tax administration’s current strategic plan.  The tax administration’s current compliance strategy or plan (if one has been prepared).  The tax administration’s organizational chart, together with role descriptions (if available) of the main organizational units depicted in the chart.  Taxpayer charter.  VAT compliance gap analysis undertaken in the last 5 years, Part II: Numerical data Please complete the attached tables, which are grouped as follows:  Section A: Tax revenue collections.  Section B: Filing of returns.  Section C: Payments.  Section D: Tax arrears.  Section E: Audit and tax gap.  Section F: Tax disputes.  Section G: Operational efficiency. Explanatory notes are provided at the foot of each table to assist completion. If further assistance or explanation is required in completing the tables, please contact [name and contact details of TADAT assessor ].

Phases: Assessment Visit – Week 1 Opening meeting Acquaint senior officials with the objectives and outputs of TADAT. Short presentation on the TADAT framework. Discuss assessment work program. Meetings with different tax departments responsible for each POA Go through the checklists of questions and gather information and evidence in respect of each indicator and dimension. Document all evidence collected. Score each dimension The team will start scoring each dimension and indicator based on analysis of the evidence gathered during the meetings.

Phases: Assessment Visit – Week 2 Prepare Performance Assessment Report (PAR) During the second week, the team prepares a draft Performance Assessment Report (PAR). Template in the Field Guide. Deliver the PAR to the tax administration head at least 24 hours prior to the exit meeting. Exit meeting Assessment team presents the TADAT assessment contained in the draft of the PAR. Provides country authorities with an opportunity to provide preliminary comments on the assessment. Country authorities are requested to provide detailed comments to the assessment team within 21 calendar days.

Phases: Post-Assessment Finalize Performance Assessment Report Consider country’s comments and feedback and make changes as appropriate. Materially different views between the assessors and the authorities need to be reflected in the final PAR. Send the PAR to the TADAT Secretariat twice First, the draft PAR is sent to the Secretariat upon completion of assessment for quality review. Second, the final PAR incorporating country’s comments and feedback is sent to the Secretariat for final review. Archive documentary evidence The team should archive documentary evidence underlying the assessment. After review by the Secretariat, the team sends the final PAR to the country. The team may be required to discuss the PAR with relevant stakeholders, particularly donors. The team should seek permission of the country authorities to publish the PAR.