Draft:Gibana

Gibana, also spelled gevana, is the legal term used in South Sudan for a locally administered tax. Gibana may be colloquial Arabic for ‘Jibu le ana’ meaning ‘give to me’ and is formalized in South Sudan´s Local Government Act, 2009.

Section 74 (1) of the Local Government Act stipulates that the Local Government Council may generate revenue from various sources and enumerates the gibana tax amongst other taxes. However, the law does not provide a definition for this kind of tax. Section 74 (1) of the Local Government Act stipulates that the Local Government Council may generate revenue from various sources and enumerates the gibana tax amongst other taxes. However, the law does not provide a definition for this kind of tax. Gibana is a consumption tax in principle and it is one of the key sources of revenue at the level of Local Government in South Sudan´s counties.

The tax was introduced between 2009 and 2010 in many counties in South Sudan; some imposed the tax simply on domestic goods transiting through a county, others levied it as a local excise tax. Yei River County, by example, collects gibana on goods sold in local markets. In some counties, the tax is being levied at the border directly upon entry into South Sudan (2 % ad valorem County tax on the value of goods being imported into South Sudan by local traders).

Gibana tax dates back to a council tax levied, at least in Juba, in colonial times.