Eswatini has been flagged as a country that needs to improve its legal framework to better align with global standards on tax transparency and information sharing.
This is according to an analysis done by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.
The Global Forum is a multilateral framework within which over 170 jurisdictions participate on an equal footing. It monitors and peer reviews the implementation of the international standards on transparency and exchange of information on request (EOIR) and on automatic exchange of information.
It also said that the country needs to improve availability of accounting and banking information.
The kingdom is one of three countries that were outlined as having gaps in tax transparency. The other two are Vietnam and Jordan.
The peer review organisation released its 2025 report on August 10, stating that Eswatini currently relies solely on its anti-money laundering (AML) framework, which does not cover all relevant legal entities and arrangements.
“Eswatini relies on only the anti-money laundering framework for the availability of beneficial ownership information; however, not all companies, partnerships and relevant co-operatives are covered by customer due diligence under the AML framework since they are not obliged to engage and have a continuing business relationship with an AML-obliged person.”
One of the dangers of this, the report states is that beneficial ownership information may not be available for all relevant legal entities and arrangements.
“Moreover, there is no guidance for some relevant non-financial businesses and professions subject to AML obligations to rely on for proper identification of beneficial owners of their clients. Therefore, the beneficial ownership information available may not be appropriate.”
In addition, the report found that there is no specified frequency in the AML framework for updating the customer due diligence information (including beneficial ownership information) by all AML-obliged persons, therefore, beneficial ownership information of all companies, partnerships and relevant co-operatives kept by AML obliged persons may not always be up to date.
The report further states that Eswatini’s exchange of information (EOI) instruments contain confidentiality rules requiring information exchanged to be kept secret and only be disclosed in accordance with the agreements which are in line with the standard.
“Moreover, the provisions of Eswatini’s domestic legislation on confidentiality, which apply in particular to tax officials, also provide for the confidentiality of exchanged information. However, the domestic legal and regulatory framework in Eswatini is not consistent with the standard as information received may be disclosed to persons not authorised by the EOI agreements.”
The report recommended that Eswatini must address this gap as currently, Eswatini’s legal framework cannot ensure the confidentiality of treaty information received by Eswatini, especially where such information is disclosed to other agencies, other than the Eswatini Revenue Service.
Moreover, the report states that there is no clear hierarchy between exchange of information agreements and domestic law to resolve the potential conflict between Eswatini’s domestic disclosure provisions and the provisions contained in treaties relating to the disclosure and use of exchanged information for tax purposes.
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