The West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) has called for stronger regional cooperation and harmonized excise policies as West African states review a proposed framework to raise tobacco taxes and curb smoking.
The three-day meeting, which began on Monday in Guinea’s capital Conakry and runs through Aug. 12, brings together tax officials from members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the ECOWAS and West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) commissions, the World Health Organization, World Bank, African Tax Administration Forum and other partners.
The talks are reviewing implementation of the existing regional tobacco taxation framework and considering changes aimed at improving public health, tax compliance and domestic revenue collection.
“Taxation is one of the instruments available to public authorities to influence the price and affordability of tobacco products,” WATAF Executive Secretary Jules Tapsoba said.
“A relevant tax policy can help reduce the consumption of products harmful to health while enabling states to mobilise additional revenue to finance public policies, particularly in the health sector,” he said.
The proposed 2026 directive would replace the bloc’s 2017 framework, which had not been fully implemented by any ECOWAS member state as of 2024, according to a presentation by Darlingston Y. Talery, acting director of the Directorate of Customs Union and Taxation at the ECOWAS Commission.
Under the proposed reforms, the minimum specific excise duty on tobacco would rise from 80 cents per pack in the first phase to USD1.40 per pack in the third phase.
The framework would also require countries to adopt a specific or mixed excise structure and make annual tax adjustments after the third phase based on whichever is higher between 5% and inflation.
The proposed rules would expand the tax framework to cover heated tobacco products and electronic nicotine delivery systems, while strengthening administrative measures to tackle illicit trade.
The ECOWAS Commission estimates the measures could increase regional tobacco tax revenues by 300% from the 2024 baseline.
The proposals also aim to cut smoking prevalence by more than 30%, reduce cigarette sales volumes by 20%, raise the excise burden to the equivalent of 70% of the retail selling price and halve smoking among people under 25.
Tapsoba said the projections demonstrated that tobacco taxation could simultaneously support government revenues and public health objectives.
Participants at the meeting stressed the need for coordinated regional action to reduce tobacco-related harm, tackle illicit trade, improve tax compliance and strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation.
Guinea’s minister of economy and finance also addressed the meeting, highlighting excise duties as an instrument that can support both public health objectives and government revenue.
WATAF has previously taken part in efforts to strengthen tobacco taxation across West Africa. In July 2023, it joined a regional meeting on tobacco taxation and illicit trade involving ECOWAS member states in Accra, Ghana.
In 2025, WATAF contributed to the validation of a tobacco excise tax simulation study in Abuja, Nigeria, where it stressed the need for tax policies to take account of cross-border trade patterns in the region.
The Conakry meeting is examining implementation of the existing directive, national excise structures, revenue performance and barriers to harmonisation, as well as international experiences in tobacco taxation.
Participants are also discussing tobacco tracking and tracing systems, illicit trade controls, tax administration, data systems, audit capacity and technical assistance.
The meeting is expected to conclude with priority recommendations and a communiqué to guide ECOWAS member states and regional institutions as they work to modernize the bloc’s tobacco excise framework.
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