The rate
The standard rate in Namibia is 15%. Some goods and services carry reduced or zero rates and others are exempt. The difference matters: zero-rated sales still let you reclaim the tax on your purchases, exempt sales do not.
Who must register
N$1,000,000 of taxable supplies in any 12 months — either looking back at the last 12 months or where there are reasonable grounds to believe the next 12 will exceed it. That figure replaced N$500,000 on 1 October 2024. Apply within 21 days of becoming liable. You are not caught if the Commissioner is satisfied you only crossed the line because you closed or shrank the business or replaced capital goods. Voluntary registration exists but is narrow: it is for a person whose taxable supplies can reasonably be expected to produce consideration only after a period of time and to exceed N$200,000 in 12 months, and the Commissioner can refuse if you have no fixed place of business, keep no proper records, were registered before and did not perform your duties, or have repeatedly failed under the Income Tax Act. Be warned that NamRA's own website and its VAT brochure still print the old N$500,000 figure.
How to register
Once you apply, the Commissioner must register you within 21 days of receiving the application, unless satisfied that you are not liable to be registered (VAT Act, section 16(2)). A voluntary applicant can be refused if they have no fixed place of abode or business, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe they will not keep proper records or file regular, reliable returns.
The registration date is not the date you apply. For a business that has crossed the threshold, registration takes effect from the beginning of the second month after the month the application is approved, though you and the Commissioner can agree on the first day of the month after approval (section 16(4)). If you were liable to register and did not apply, you are deemed registered from the date you became liable (section 16(3)).
Filing and paying
Registered and filed with Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA).
The tax period is two calendar months. NamRA puts you in Category A — periods ending on the last day of January, March, May, July, September and November — or Category B, ending February, April, June, August, October and December, and that allocation cannot be objected to. File the VAT return on ITAS by the 25th day of the month after the period ends, whether or not any tax is payable; a nil period is still a return. Farmers elect two, four, six or twelve months when they register. A voluntary registrant's period is six months unless the Commissioner approves otherwise, and never shorter than two. Two other clocks run monthly: the VAT import account return is due by the 20th of the month following the month of import, and must be filed even in a month with no imports; tax on imported services is declared and paid within 20 days following the month of the import. Accounting records must be kept in English, at the place of business in Namibia.
Penalties for getting it wrong
A late return costs N$100 for every day it stays outstanding. Late payment costs 10% of the unpaid tax for each month or part month, capped at the amount of the unpaid tax, and interest runs on top. Since 1 October 2024 that interest is no longer a flat 20% a year: it is the Bank of Namibia prime lending rate, published by the Minister in the Gazette and updated within 30 days of each Bank of Namibia move — 10.50% a year with effect from 1 April 2025. Not registering when you should be carries a penalty of double the output tax for the whole period from when you became liable until you apply. Failing to keep proper records is N$3,000 a day.