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Sole trader

Sole Proprietor (Individual Trader)Ethiopia

What it takes to form, own and run a sole trader in Ethiopia, and how its profit is taxed. Each figure links to the page it was read from.

This company type

At a glance

Owners' liability
Not in our records
Owners
At least 1 · at most 1 · one person may form it alone
Officialjustice.gov.etRead 10 Oct 2026
Quote
Trade name of a sole proprietor shall include
Directors
Does not apply
Minimum capital
Not stated

The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.

Formation fee
Not stated

The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.

Tax on profit
Varies · 0–35%
Officialjustice.gov.etRead 10 Oct 2026
Quote
በግለሰብ ላይ ተፈፃሚ የሚሆኑት የንግድ ሥራ ገቢ ግብር

Form it

Who registers it

Registry
Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration (central commercial register; regional trade bureaus and the Ethiopian Investment Commission register and forward to it)
Formed without visiting
Not stated

The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.

Formed online
Not in our records

What it takes to form

Not in our records A notary, A resident director, Paying up the capital: none of these is in our records for the Sole Proprietor (Individual Trader).

Own it

Who may own and run it

Directors
Does not apply
Shareholders
Does not apply
Members
At least 1 · at most 1 · one person may form it alone
Official justice.gov.et read 10 Oct 2026
Quote
Trade name of a sole proprietor shall include
A local company secretary
Does not apply
A local registered agent
Not stated

The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.

Each year, at the registry

Not in our records Annual registry fee, Accounts on the public record, Audit for a small company, Audit: none of these is in our records for the Sole Proprietor (Individual Trader).

Important dates

When each obligation falls due, as the authority states it.

Not in our records No dates for the Sole Proprietor (Individual Trader) are in our records.

What is public

Not in our records What the register shows the public is not in our records for the Sole Proprietor (Individual Trader).

Tax

Tax on profit

How this company type is taxed, which can differ from its place’s headline rate.

Varies · 0–35%

Individuals pay business income tax on bands from 0% up to 35% on annual taxable income over 130,800 (Proclamation 979/2016 art. 19(2)).

Official justice.gov.et read 10 Oct 2026
Quote
በግለሰብ ላይ ተፈፃሚ የሚሆኑት የንግድ ሥራ ገቢ ግብር
CFC rules in Ethiopia
Not in our records

Close it

Closing it

The other end, which most guides leave out.

Not in our records Route, Statutory fee: none of these is in our records for the Sole Proprietor (Individual Trader).

Every business in Ethiopia

VAT

Standard rate
15%

Value Added Tax Proclamation No. 1341/2024 (Federal Negarit Gazette No. 61, 21 August 2024), art. 8(2): 15 percent, with zero percent for zero-rated supplies. Read on the Ministry of Justice's law site (justice.gov.et), which lists the Proclamation as in force.

Official justice.gov.et read 25 Oct 2026
Quote
b) in any other case 15 percent.
Other rates
  • 0% Zero-rated supplies
Official justice.gov.et read 25 Oct 2026
Quote
a) for a taxable supply that is a Zero-rated supply, Zero percent, or
Registration threshold
ETB 2,000,000

total value of taxable supplies, or such other amount as the Ministry's directive sets (art. 12); 12 calendar months

Official justice.gov.et read 25 Oct 2026
Quote
The registration threshold is 2,000,000 Birr or such other amount as specified in the Directive to be issued by the Ministry.
A foreign company
The same threshold applies

Art. 64 applies the art. 12 liability to register to a person carrying on a taxable activity outside Ethiopia with no fixed place of business there, so the threshold applies. It does not require a VAT representative as a rule: the Tax Authority may require security, and may require a VAT representative if the person then fails to comply, so representative_required and registers_from_first_supply stay open.

Official justice.gov.et read 25 Oct 2026
Quote
the Tax Authority may require a person carrying on a taxable activity outside Ethiopia who is liable to be registered under Article 12 of this Proclamation but who does not have a fixed place of business in Ethiopia to lodge security
Returns filed
Monthly
Official justice.gov.et read 25 Oct 2026
Quote
“Accounting Period” means each calendar month.
Tax authority
Ministry of Revenues, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Payment and banking services

None of the services whose lists we hold names Ethiopia. Each provider, and what a listing means.

Reference

Its name and code

Kind
Sole trader
Derived our grouping, the same words in every country
Name in law
Sole Proprietor (Individual Trader)
Identifier
ET-SOLE-PROPRIETOR
A form ISO 20275 does not list.