Tackling Tunisia's Parallel Economy: A New Cooperation Agreement

One of the top priorities for reviving Tunisia's economy is to tackle the parallel economy. The flow of various types of goods sold on sidewalks, right under the noses of shop owners, doesn't all come from the southern desert or northern forests. Instead, they enter the country in containers and pass through ports undisturbed. To combat this scourge, digitalization of operations and a counter-information flow are essential to tighten the noose around the barons of the underground economy.

A New Cooperation Agreement

Yesterday, the Ministries of Finance and Trade and Export Development signed a cooperation agreement on information sharing. This partnership is based on close cooperation between the General Directorate of Public Accounting and Recovery (DGCPR) and the General Directorate of Taxes (DGI), on one hand, and the General Directorate of Competition and Economic Investigations, on the other. The agreement aims to strengthen cooperation between these departments through real-time electronic exchange of information and special documents within the framework of networking databases. This will enable them to reinforce the effectiveness of their interventions in the fight against parallel economy and tax evasion, as well as to control and regulate distribution circuits and establish transparent transactions to ensure fair and equal competition, achieve fiscal equity, and contribute to preserving national economic interests.

Improved Performance and Efficiency

This agreement will also contribute to improving the performance of the concerned structures in implementing state policies and strategies to combat the parallel economy and various manifestations of monopoly and manipulation of subsidized products. It will also help preserve state resources, develop mechanisms for recovering state claims resulting from economic offenses, and implement judgments rendered in the field of competition and monopoly.

Joint Steering Committee

A joint steering committee will be created, composed of representatives from the DGCPR, DGI, and the General Directorate of Competition and Economic Investigations. A technical committee will also be established, comprising IT and network specialists, to ensure the exchange of information and data and resolve technical issues.