The Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) operates a developing but rigorous tax administration managed by the Eswatini Revenue Authority (ERA). As a member of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), its trade compliance is tightly monitored.
For international investors, contractors, and NGOs, the challenge is navigating a dual-identifier system. You must distinguish between the National PIN (identity) and the TIN (tax), as confusing the two on official invoices or withholding tax declarations can lead to immediate rejection by the ERS electronic system.
Introduction
The backbone of Eswatini’s fiscal infrastructure is the ERS. The tax authority has aggressively modernized its platforms (e-Tax), making real-time validation of taxpayer data mandatory for claiming VAT inputs.
For global enterprises, the critical risk lies in Withholding Tax (WHT). Payments to non-resident service providers are subject to strict WHT rules (typically 15%). Failing to validate the vendor’s TIN means you cannot generate the necessary tax credit certificates, leaving your company liable for the tax.
