Côte d’Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire: 6 company types, its taxes, banking and business environment, and what it is known for.
Forming a company
Company types in Côte d’Ivoire
The 6 forms a founder can choose here, each with its own figures. Open one for its sources.
What it is known for
Where Côte d’Ivoire is in the world’s top 10 on a measure anyone can check, the best rank first. Only the top is shown; a low rank is never stated.
- World’s1stWorld-leading exports Cocoa beans, whole or broken, raw or roastedUS$5 bn · 26.3% of world exports of 135 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
- World’s1stWorld-leading exports Cocoa paste, whether or not defattedUS$2.1 bn · 25.5% of world exports of 102 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
- World’s3rdWorld-leading exports Natural rubber and similar gumsNatural rubber, balata, gutta-percha, guayule, chicle and similar natural gums, in primary forms or in plates, sheets or stripUS$2.7 bn · 16.1% of world exports of 127 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
A rank is among everything the source reports for that year, so it moves when the source adds or drops economies. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. Nothing here is a recommendation.
Doing business here
Business accounts
Providers whose own published list of countries names Côte d’Ivoire. A listing means a company formed here may apply, not that it will be accepted.
Not in our records No provider's country list has been read for Côte d’Ivoire.
EU listings
Two lists a bank checks when it opens an account for a company or its owner.
- EU high-risk third countries (AML)
- Not listed
- EU non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes
- Not listedOfficial EUR-Lex, 52026XG01465, Annex I as of 2026-02-17
Official sites
The authorities’ own sites for Côte d’Ivoire: where to register, file and check.
Blocs and agreements
The trade arrangements Côte d’Ivoire belongs to, as each arrangement’s own texts state them: since when, and what each covers. What a membership means for a business is for you to judge.
- African Continental Free Trade Area
- Free trade area · since 30 May 2019
Covers goods, services.
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means a Member State that has ratified or acceded to this Agreement and for which the Agreement is in force
- ECOWAS
- Customs union · since 28 May 1975
Covers goods, a common external tariff, movement of people, establishment.
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Cabo Verde joined the union in 1977.
- West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA)
- Economic union
Covers goods, services, establishment, capital, movement of people, a common external tariff, a common currency.
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regroupe huit États côtiers et sahéliens : Bénin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinée-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Sénégal et Togo
Regional and customs arrangements only, 36 of them; bilateral trade agreements are not yet in our records.
Tax
Company tax
Tax, and what the company owes the registry each year.
- Corporate income tax
- 25%
- Distributions
- Not in our records
- Audit
- Not in our records
- Small-company relief
- Not in our records
- Annual obligations
- Not in our records
- Annual registry fee
- Not in our records
VAT
The tax on what the company sells in Côte d’Ivoire, and when it must register, as the tax authority states it.
- Standard rate
- 18%
Read in the DGI's own communiqués (the site's data feed, which its script-drawn pages display): the DGI calls 18% the taux de droit commun (standard rate).
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le taux de droit commun de 18%
- Other rates
- 9% Jute and sisal fibres, animal feed and its inputs and packaging, and inputs and packaging for fertiliser manufacture: transitional rate under ordonnance n° 2026-03 of 7 January 2026, effective 17 January 2026
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soumet lesdits biens et opérations au taux réduit de 9% en lieu et place du taux de droit commun de 18%
- Registration threshold
- Not in our records
- A foreign company
- See the note
The DGI communiqués read say nothing on non-resident suppliers, so these fields are left as gaps.
- Returns filed
- Monthly
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assujettis à la taxe sur la valeur ajoutée, que les dates limites pour la déclaration et le paiement de ladite taxe, due au titre des opérations du mois de septembre 2026
- Tax authority
- Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI), Ministère de l’Économie et des Finances
Tax calendar
When the main returns and payments fall due in Côte d’Ivoire, tax year exercice 2025 (year ended 2025) / 2026, as the tax authority states it.
- Corporate tax return
- 5 months after the end of the accounting period · each year
FR: au plus tard le 30 mai suivant la date de clôture de l'exercice comptable, pour les autres entreprises (le 30 juin pour les entreprises soumises à l'obligation de certification de leurs comptes par un commissaire aux comptes). EN: a company files its BIC return of results (déclaration de résultats) and financial statements by 30 May following its year end, or by 30 June where its accounts must be certified by a statutory auditor. The record takes the 30 May case, five months after a 31 December year end. The DGI calendar states no weekend shift, so the shift is unstated.
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le 30 mai suivant la date de clôture
- Corporate tax, final payment
- 5 months after the end of the accounting period · each year
FR: la déclaration de résultats et le paiement du solde du BIC se font au plus tard le 30 mai suivant la date de clôture de l'exercice comptable (30 juin pour les comptes certifiés). EN: the balance of BIC is settled with the annual return of results, so the payment date is the return date, 30 May following a 31 December year end (30 June for audited companies), after the three instalments. The calendar states no weekend shift, so the shift is unstated.
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le 30 mai suivant la date de clôture
- Corporate tax, instalments
- 15 April · each quarter
FR: paiement fractionné du BIC pour les autres entreprises relevant d'un régime réel d'imposition : 1er tiers : 15 avril ; 2ème tiers : 15 juin ; 3ème tiers : 15 septembre. Les entreprises relevant de la DGE/DME paient selon leur secteur (industrie 10 avril/10 juin/10 septembre, commerce 15 avril/15 juin/15 septembre, services 20 avril/20 juin/20 septembre). EN: the BIC is paid in THREE instalments (tiers) during the year, on 15 April, 15 June and 15 September for the standard réel case; the frequency field is 'quarterly' because the schema offers no three-instalment value, but the obligation is three tiers, not four quarters. The record takes the first tier, 15 April. The calendar states no weekend shift, so the shift is unstated.
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entreprises commerciales : 1er tiers : 15 avril, 2ème tiers : 15 juin, 3ème tiers : 15 septembre ;
- Personal income-tax return
- Not required here
FR: suspension de l'obligation de déclaration annuelle depuis l'entrée en vigueur de l'annexe fiscale 2017 jusqu'à l'achèvement de la réforme globale de l'IGR en cours. EN: the DGI calendar records that the annual IGR return by the recipient of income has been SUSPENDED since the 2017 finance annex until the current global IGR reform is completed. The individual's tax is collected by the cédular taxes and by withholding at source instead, so no annual return is required of the individual. Pages read: the DGI Calendrier des obligations fiscales (sections 2 ITS and 5 IGR) at https://www.dgi.gouv.ci/assets/documents/CALENDRIER.pdf.
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l'annexe fiscale 2017 jusqu'à l'achèvement de la réforme globale de l'igr en cours.
- Personal income tax, final payment
- Not required here
FR: suspension de l'obligation de déclaration annuelle (IGR) depuis l'annexe fiscale 2017. EN: because the annual IGR return is suspended, there is no annual balancing payment by the individual; the tax is finalised through the cédular taxes and withholding (ITS on salaries, BIC/BNC and foncier as applicable). A specific advance regime exists for property income (acomptes d'impôt sur les revenus fonciers, due 15 March, 15 June, 15 September and 15 December for individuals) but that is a separate cédular tax, not a balancing payment of a global income tax. Page read: the DGI Calendrier des obligations fiscales at https://www.dgi.gouv.ci/assets/documents/CALENDRIER.pdf.
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l'annexe fiscale 2017 jusqu'à l'achèvement de la réforme globale de l'igr en cours.
- Personal income tax, instalments
- Not required here
FR: suspension de l'obligation de déclaration annuelle (IGR) depuis l'annexe fiscale 2017. EN: Côte d'Ivoire has no general advance-payment regime for the individual's income tax; the annual IGR return is suspended and the tax is collected by the cédular taxes and by withholding at source. The only individual payments on account in the DGI calendar are the property-income acomptes (Impôt sur les revenus fonciers, due 15 March, 15 June, 15 September and 15 December), which are a separate cédular tax and not a general income-tax instalment. Page read: the DGI Calendrier des obligations fiscales at https://www.dgi.gouv.ci/assets/documents/CALENDRIER.pdf.
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l'annexe fiscale 2017 jusqu'à l'achèvement de la réforme globale de l'igr en cours.
- VAT return
- Day 15 of the following month · each month
FR: pour les contribuables au régime du réel d'imposition (réel normal et réel simplifié), la déclaration et le paiement de la TVA se font le 15 de chaque mois. Les contribuables relevant de la DGE/DME déclarent selon leur secteur (industrie/pétrole/mines le 10 du mois suivant, commerce le 15, services le 20). EN: a business under the standard réel regime files the monthly VAT return and pays by the 15th of the following month; larger DGE/DME taxpayers file on the 10th, 15th or 20th of the following month by sector. The record takes the standard réel case, the 15th. The calendar states no weekend shift, so the shift is unstated.
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15 de chaque mois.
- Payroll withholding
- Day 15 of the following month · each month
FR: en ce qui concerne les entreprises relevant des centres des Impôts, l'ITS est déclaré et payé au plus tard le 15 du mois suivant. Les entreprises relevant de la DGE/DME paient le 10 (industrie/pétrole/mines), le 15 (commerce) ou le 20 (services) du mois suivant ; les contribuables de la taxe d'État de l'entreprenant et du régime des microentreprises, le 10 du mois suivant. EN: an employer remits the ITS withheld from salaries by the 15th of the following month in the standard case (centre des Impôts); larger taxpayers remit on the 10th, 15th or 20th by sector. The record takes the standard 15th. Where the monthly withholding does not exceed 10,000 francs, payment may be made half-yearly, by 15 July and 15 January, unless a month exceeds 5,000 francs. The calendar states no weekend shift, so the shift is unstated.
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tard le 15 du mois suivant.
Running the company
Running a company here
Not in our records The authorities’ pages on running a company have not been read for Côte d’Ivoire yet.
Economy and trade
What it exports
Goods Côte d’Ivoire exported, by product, as a share of its goods exports each year. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. A share describes Côte d’Ivoire’s own trade; it does not compare places.
| Product (HS heading) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Value, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold (including gold plated with platinum), unwrought or in semi-manufactured forms, or in powder form HS 7108 | 12.1% | 19.4% | 22.5% | US$5.9 bn |
| Cocoa beans, whole or broken, raw or roasted HS 1801 | 22.0% | 17.0% | 19.0% | US$5 bn |
| Natural rubber, balata, gutta-percha, guayule, chicle and similar natural gums, in primary forms or in plates, sheets or strip HS 4001 | 16.2% | 10.1% | 10.4% | US$2.7 bn |
| Cocoa paste, whether or not defatted HS 1803 | 7.5% | 6.0% | 8.1% | US$2.1 bn |
| Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other than crude; preparations not elsewhere specified or included, containing by weight 70 % or more of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations; waste oils HS 2710 | 5.3% | 9.4% | 7.6% | US$2 bn |
| Coconuts, Brazil nuts and cashew nuts, fresh or dried, whether or not shelled or peeled HS 0801 | 8.3% | 6.1% | 4.8% | US$1.2 bn |
| Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude HS 2709 | 5.3% | 3.8% | 4.3% | US$1.1 bn |
| Cocoa butter, fat and oil HS 1804 | 3.5% | 3.3% | 3.9% | US$1 bn |
| Cocoa shells, husks, skins and other cocoa waste HS 1802 | under 0.05% | 1.9% | 2.2% | US$574 m |
| Bananas, including plantains, fresh or dried HS 0803 | 2.3% | 1.8% | 1.5% | US$388 m |
Total goods exports, 2024: US$26 bn. The ten largest headings are shown.