Just days before the mandatory rollout of the standardized invoice system on December 1, 2025, the Federation of Congolese Enterprises (FEC) has requested another postponement. The request was filed with Finance Minister Doudou Fwamba after the business group raised the issue during a tax briefing held on Tuesday, November 18, in Kinshasa by the General Directorate of Taxes (DGI), according to the meeting minutes.

The FEC argues that key prerequisites for the reform are not yet in place. It cites the failure to deliver the Invoicing Control Modules (MCF), which are required to complete the approval of company invoicing systems (SFE). It also notes that the government has not published the list of approved solution providers that companies using manual invoicing need to comply with the new rules.

Thierry Ngoy Kasumba, the FEC’s Managing Director, pointed to additional issues, including platform freezes when several companies use it simultaneously, account-security vulnerabilities in case of unauthorized access, and the lack of a multi-user option, a major problem for businesses with multiple points of sale.

Given these difficulties, the FEC argues that postponing the mandatory launch is necessary to avoid disrupting business operations, especially during the end-of-year period. Data presented at the tax briefing showed that out of 12,000 taxpayers, only 14 companies had received their MCFs from the DGI to complete the approval process.

Even so, Finance Ministry officials present at the meeting upheld the December 1 date “as a reference point” for the start of the obligation to issue standardized invoices. They urged companies to use the existing support options, including information sessions and online assistance.

In a November 10, 2025 statement, the DGI said it would host free webinars on invoicing standardization from November 10 to December 19, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays during the same period will be dedicated to training sessions on “e-UF,” a free tool that allows taxpayers without an approved invoicing system to issue standardized invoices.

The standardized invoice system is part of the government’s strategy to modernize the tax administration, track commercial transactions, secure VAT collection, curb fraud, improve the reliability of tax declarations, and boost domestic revenue.

Timothée Manoke