DICE – Digital Invoice Customs Exchange

Abstract

A digital invoice customs exchange (DICE) is a technology-intensive tax compliance regimen for VAT/GST that utilizes invoice encryption to safeguard transactional data exchanged between seller and buyer in both domestic and import/export contexts while simultaneously notifying concerned jurisdictions of the transaction details.

DICE facilitates real-time VAT/GST enforcement as well as real-time commercial contract verification. It is a commercial invoice validation system that prevents tax evasion, most notably missing trader fraud and the non-declared import of trade-able services. DICE mimics the most effective administrative enforcement effort ever undertaken by the US IRS – the requirement to disclose the social security numbers of dependents on returns. Tax enforcement is simplified and streamlined when fraudsters know they are (or they are convinced that they could be) being watched – in real-time detail.

DICE is an emerging compliance solution that has been adopted in part by some jurisdictions, but (as of this writing) has not been adopted in full by any jurisdiction.

There are two elements to DICE – the digital invoice and the customs exchange. This paper presents the both elements and indicates where early successes have been recorded in implementation.

Keywords: digital invoice, customs exchange, DICE, digital invoice customs exchange, VAT, GST, tax fraud, voluntary compliance, Rwanda, Quebec, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, East African community, MTIC, MTEC

JEL Classification: E62, H2, H26, H29, K33, K34