Corporate Tax Manager - ECA at British American Tobacco (BAT)

British American Tobacco has a great opportunity for a Corporate Tax Manager to join our team in Nairobi.

Our new colleague will plan, develop and control all tax matters for the three BAT legal entities in Kenya and BAT Rwanda and offer support to other markets/ entities within the ECA Area (BAT Mauritius, BAT Reunion, BAT Uganda, BAT Congo, BAT Tanzania, BAT Eritrea & BAT Ethiopia), and ensuring that all local statutory requirements are adhered to. This will include ensuring accurate calculation and timely payment of Excise duties, Value Added Tax (VAT), Withholding VAT, Withholding Taxes, Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and Corporate Tax on a monthly or quarterly basis as may be required by law.

Will also provide all relevant tax information to the Kenya Revenue Authority, Internal and external auditors, ECA Area Head of Finance, AmSSA Regional Head of Tax, and Legal Counsel as and when required, and develop and manage excellent working relationships with the revenue authorities within ECA, clearing agents, external auditors and tax consultants, industry tax practitioners and internal customers.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:

Co-ordinate and manage the direct tax activities of the group in East & Central Africa (ECA) Area. (Corporate Tax, Withholding Taxes, Compliance, Reporting)

Corporate Tax:

• Assess tax implications of business projects and proposed arrangement, agreements, transactions
• Stay abreast of new tax legislations and assess the impact on the Area advising the Area Head of Finance and Regional Head of Tax accordingly
• Support the Regional Corporate Tax Manager in the implementation and delivery of all regional tax initiatives to support the delivery of earnings per share value to the Group
• Provide advice to the Area Head of Finance, Finance Directors and the Regional Corporate Tax Manager on all tax matters within the Area to facilitate decision making for the group’s business
• Ensure appropriate and robust processes are in place to manage corporate tax governance in ECA markets and appropriate controls are in place and working effectively activities following agreed global standard processes and frameworks
• Provide proactive support for the centralisation of taxation transactions e.g. global to local transfer pricing

Withholding Taxes:

• Support the regional initiatives explored relating to tax saving opportunities on all types of WHT
• Manage all Withholding Taxes (WHTs) paid by BAT Kenya and Rwanda entities and ensure proper treatment in the tax returns
• Provide input to dividend declarations

Compliance:

• Take responsibility for the tax compliance
• Manage the accurate and timely calculation and payment of corporate tax liabilities, seeking to minimize interest and administrative costs where relevant
• Review all returns and schedules for submission to Revenue Authorities as prepared by Tax Analyst and tax advisors
• Timely submission of tax schedules, tax calculations, annual tax returns and tax payments to Revenue Authorities

Reporting:

• Preparation of Tax computations /deferred tax reconciliations and packs for disclosure in the annual financial statements for Kenya and Rwanda entities and coordination of the same for all other ECA markets
• Ensuring the completeness of related party disclosures in the annual financial statements
• Ensure that all tax risks and sensitivities in end markets are fully investigated to ensure that any necessary provision is correctly reflected in the group’s financial statements

Manage transfer pricing compliance as prescribed by internationally-acceptable guidelines and group standards

• Updating the BAT Kenya group’s transfer pricing policies in line with the guidelines and group policies
• Review / update of BAT Uganda TP documentation
• Maintain other documentation to support the arm’s length nature of affected transactions
• Perform validation exercises of group recharges and transfer prices applied in group transactions
• Providing advice to markets within ECA on transfer pricing matters.
• Co-ordination of ECA Area transfer pricing activities.

Oversee Kenya & Rwanda Revenue tax audits and support other markets within ECA

• Liaise with Revenue Authorities, organize and agree the format of the audit, coordinate and facilitate investigations
• Ensuring no scope creep into the audit
• Review submissions prepared by the Corporate Tax Analyst / end market finance
• Consult with tax advisors on audit findings where necessary

Management:

• Co-ordination and oversight of all tax matters and requests within ECA
• Ensuring a strong system of internal controls exist in the taxation process and working closely with the IT Department to effect improvements in the system controls.
• Proactively monitor all key tax accounts in the balance sheet to avoid any penalties for late/ non-payment of tax or non-compliance with existing tax laws.
• Align tax management for ECA Area to ensure effective delivery of the group tax strategy of minimising tax risks/ exposure and maximising on tax opportunities.

Leadership:

• Provide direction to and influence the clearing agents in fulfilling their obligations to BAT in complying with the Laws and Regulations governing the movement of BAT goods into and out of the country
• Coach and train staff in finance, supply chain, and clearing agents to enable them fulfil the requirements of the laws relating to taxation, give on-going feedback on areas of success and those that need improvement.

Relationship:

• Build on the existing working relationships between various revenue authorities within ECA.
• Develop excellent business relationships with commercial managers in ECA to enable pro-active and efficient business partnering
• Provide the Regional Head of Tax, Finance Director and other Top Team members with relevant tax updates to facilitate effective decision making and ensure that tax risks are properly managed.

Other Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

• The Tax Manager is a finance professional with a highly commercial approach. The complexity of the operations in BAT (different business streams) requires an individual with proven potential and strong management and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent communication skills to enable effective development of relationships within and outside the organisation and to facilitate speedy resolution of issues.
• Capable of analysing financial impact of any proposed changes in the taxation laws but also able to demonstrate the need for, and ensure implementation of, appropriate systems and controls.
• Ability to work with all levels of staff within the company and handle relationships with external parties.

Technical Capabilities:

• 3-4 years of experience post qualifications, including experience in international tax
• Good understanding and experience in Kenyan Tax laws
• Good understanding of tax laws within ECA
• Conversant with use of common IT software