PHNOM PENH: Cambodia's General Department of Taxation (GDT) collected US$298.55 million in tax revenue during January 2024, marking a 0.68% decrease compared to the same period in 2023.

Though slightly lower than last year, the collected amount still represents 7.17% of the annual target, according to a GDT report released on Monday.

Notably, the report highlights the growing importance of e-commerce VAT, with US$8.67 million collected from non-resident e-commerce companies like Google, Facebook, YouTube, Alibaba, Microsoft, and TikTok in January alone. This comes since the e-commerce VAT implementation in April 2022.

For context, Cambodia has two primary tax-collecting institutions: the GDT (responsible for internal taxes) and the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE) which manages import and export taxes.

In 2023, the GDT reported a 4.5% increase in annual revenue, reaching US$3.61 billion. While January 2024 shows a minor decline, the growing contribution of e-commerce VAT suggests potential for increased revenue in the future.