TEJ (Télé-déclaration des États de Rémunérations versées à des Tiers) is how many Tunisian businesses report professional fees and the withholding tax they deducted at source. If you pay consultants, freelancers, or certain service providers, you are often both the payer and the reporter—not just the person who sends the invoice.
TEJ is separate from TTN El Fatoora e-invoicing, but the two meet in real operations: the same PME may issue cleared e-invoices through TTN while also filing TEJ declarations for fees paid to external providers. Confusing them leads to missing declarations or duplicate data entry. This guide clarifies who must file TEJ, on what rhythm, and how to prepare exports your accountant can trust.
Who is concerned by TEJ?
In practice, TEJ obligations hit companies and institutions that pay professional remuneration subject to withholding tax (retenue à la source). Typical cases include IT subcontractors, marketing agencies, legal and consulting fees, and other service invoices where the payer must withhold and remit tax on behalf of the beneficiary.
- PMEs with recurring external consultants or project-based freelancers
- Service companies that subcontract specialized work
- Cabinet comptable clients where the firm pays third parties on the client's behalf (workflow varies—align with your accountant)
- Any VAT-registered entity already navigating TTN who also pays professional fees at scale
Micro-businesses with only salaried employees and no third-party professional payments may have lighter TEJ exposure, but do not assume exemption because you are small—one regular consultant contract can trigger reporting duties.
What TEJ reporting actually contains
A TEJ declaration summarizes remunerations paid to third parties in a period: beneficiary identity (name, tax ID where applicable), nature of payment, gross amount, withheld tax, and payment date. DGI uses this to reconcile what beneficiaries declare as income against what payers withheld.
Errors cluster around three fields: wrong beneficiary identifier, misclassified payment type, and timing (declaring in the wrong month or quarter). Spreadsheets amplify these errors because each payment is retyped from bank statements or PDF invoices.
TEJ vs TTN El Fatoora — do not merge the workflows
- TTN El Fatoora: clearance of invoices you issue to customers (outbound sales documents)
- TEJ: declaration of professional fees you pay to third parties (inbound payment reporting)
- Both need audit trails, but data sources and deadlines differ
- Software that only handles sales invoices without payment-side exports leaves TEJ manual
Hesabi is designed for Tunisian SME finance end-to-end: invoicing with TTN-oriented workflows plus exports accountants use for TEJ alignment. If your current tool stops at PDF invoices, your accountant rebuilds TEJ lines by hand every month.
Monthly workflow that scales
- Capture vendor master data once
Store legal name, tax identifiers, and default withholding treatment for each recurring provider. Typos here repeat in every declaration.
- Tag payments at approval time
When finance approves a supplier invoice, record gross amount, withheld tax, and period in the same system—not in a side spreadsheet.
- Reconcile against bank
Match declared lines to bank outflows before export. Unmatched lines usually mean a missing invoice or wrong beneficiary.
- Export for accountant review
Generate TEJ-oriented export; accountant validates mapping to DGI portal format before submission.
- Archive proof
Keep invoice PDF, payment proof, and declaration receipt together per beneficiary for audit.
Common mistakes PMEs make
- Waiting until year-end to reconstruct twelve months of contractor payments
- Using personal RIB payments without formalizing vendor records
- Applying a single withholding rate to all service types
- Assuming TTN-cleared sales invoices satisfy TEJ obligations
- Letting one finance person hold the process without documented backup
How accountants use Hesabi in TEJ cycles
Expert-comptables serving multiple PME clients need consistent exports, not bespoke Excel from each company. Hesabi Cabinet-oriented workflows (see hesabi.tn) aim to give firms portfolio visibility: client invoices, withholding lines, and audit trails in one place rather than email attachments every month.
If you are a PME, ask your accountant which fields they need in TEJ exports before you configure software. Ten minutes of alignment saves hours of reformating later.
Large payers sometimes receive DGI correspondence about mismatches between beneficiary declarations and payer TEJ lines. Resolving those letters requires payment-level proof—another reason ad hoc spreadsheets fail under scrutiny.
Build an internal calendar shared with finance and your accountant: TEJ submission dates, TTN certificate renewal, and VAT declaration deadlines in one view. Tools differ; discipline does not.
Is TEJ the same as El Fatoora?
No. El Fatoora clears e-invoices you issue. TEJ reports professional fees paid to third parties and withholding tax. Many PMEs need both processes.
How often do I file TEJ?
Rhythm depends on your tax profile and DGI rules in force—often monthly or quarterly for active payers. Your accountant sets the calendar.
Can I file TEJ from a spreadsheet?
You can, but retyping from PDFs invites identifier errors. Prefer software that tracks vendor payments and exports structured data.
Does Hesabi replace my accountant?
No. Hesabi reduces manual reconstruction; your commissaire aux comptes or expert-comptable still validates declarations and interprets law.
Hesabi outside Tunisia?
No. Hesabi is Tunisia-only today. TEJ and TTN workflows reflect Tunisian regulation.
