HARARE, Zimbabwe | September 14, 2026 — African tax administrations are preparing to deepen continental cooperation on the exchange of tax information as governments seek to strengthen revenue collection and prevent taxpayers from hiding assets and activities across borders.
The African Tax Administration Forum, ATAF, will bring together tax administration leaders and practitioners from across the continent in Zimbabwe from October 14 to 16 for the Continental Exchange of Information Conference and Workshop.
The event will be hosted by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, ZIMRA, and is expected to focus on moving Africa’s exchange of information agenda from awareness and discussion towards practical implementation.
Exchange of information allows tax administrations to work together by sharing data and expertise needed to identify and collect revenue owed to their respective countries.
The cooperation is also intended to help tax authorities pursue tax evasion and tax avoidance, particularly where individuals and businesses use cross border structures to conceal assets, income or other activities.
ATAF says the system is already producing measurable results across Africa.
Since 2009, African tax administrations have identified more than €4.6 billion in additional revenue through exchange of information, cross border audits and investigations supported by exchanged information, as well as voluntary disclosure programmes.
Of that amount, €417 million was identified in 2025 alone.
Despite the gains, ATAF says the benefits remain concentrated among a relatively small number of African countries, creating a need to expand the effective use of exchange of information across the continent.
The three day conference and workshop will combine discussions at political and leadership level with practical sessions aimed at helping tax administrations improve implementation.
One area of focus will be the use of information obtained through exchange of information on request to improve the success of tax audits.
Participants will also examine how data analytics can be used to generate greater revenue from Automatic Exchange of Information, known as AEOI.
The programme will look at real time cooperation between African tax administrations through simultaneous tax examinations and joint audits.
Another area of discussion will be the development of effective and digitalised beneficial ownership registers, which can help tax authorities establish who ultimately owns or controls companies and other legal structures.
The conference will also consider ways of expanding networks between African Competent Authorities responsible for international tax cooperation.
Participants will be given live demonstrations of African led technology solutions designed to support Automatic Exchange of Information.
The programme will further address how African countries can strengthen their performance in Global Forum peer reviews, which assess the implementation of international standards on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes.
ATAF said the broader objective is to ensure that more African tax administrations can convert information received from domestic and international sources into practical enforcement measures.
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