South Sudan Revenue Authority (SSRA) kicked off a new workshop on electronic tax and customs systems on Monday, to modernize revenue collection and enhance institutional performance through digital collection.
The training, which runs from September 1st to September 9th, brings together staff from the Domestic Tax and Customs divisions, as well as other departments at the SSRA Headquarters.
The initiative highlights the authority’s push to equip its team with the skills needed to manage modern digital tax systems, aligning with international standards.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop at the SSRA headquarters, Kiir Yor Lual, the commissioner of corporate services, highlighted the importance of adopting digital solutions in tax and customs administration to improve tax collection efficiency in the country.
This push for modernization comes as South Sudan grapples with a severe economic downturn. For years, the nation’s economy has been almost entirely dependent on oil, which accounted for over 90 percent of its revenue.
This over-reliance has left the country vulnerable to global price swings and, more recently, major disruptions from the war in neighboring Sudan, which has damaged critical oil infrastructure.
With oil revenue facing a major setback, the government is now intensifying its campaign to collect non-oil revenue, turning its focus to taxes from citizens and businesses to keep the country afloat.
The situation became even more critical over the weekend, when the Sudanese government ordered an emergency shutdown of the Heglig oil facilities following renewed attacks by the Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, putting South Sudan’s crude exports at immediate risk.
“We have accordingly issued instructions to 2B OPCO and PETCO to activate the emergency shutdown plan and to coordinate the evacuation of all personnel from the Heglig area,” stated Dr. Fadul Mahmoud, the acting Undersecretary of Sudan’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, in a statement on Saturday.
