Ivory Coast telcos in mobile money tax dispute

Friday, March 1, 2019

By Paul Adepoju

The Telecommunications/ICT Regulatory Authority of Côte d’Ivoire (ARTCI) has directed mobile operators to immediately stop transferring the additional cost of mobile money transactions onto the consumer.

In a statement, the regulator accused operators of disregarding the law– specifically Article 174 of Ordinance No. 2012-293 of 21 March 2012 on Telecommunications and Telecommunications Technologies which requires them to communicate the tariffs and T&Cs of the service offered, one month before making them public.

“The new rates on mobile money transfer services have not been subject to prior notification to the ARTCI. Therefore, ARTCI requires all mobile operators to immediately stop their application,” ARTCI stated.

Operators in Côte d’Ivoire have increased the rate charged for mobile money transfers to 7.2%, which they argue is in line with a government increase in mobile money tax.

Photo courtesy of ICT4D.at

Source: ITWeb Africa (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Finance, Telecommunications
Tags
public policy, telecommunications