The Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) has resumed its Electronic Fiscal Devices (EFD) campaign branded ‘Kuiphula ndi lisiti langa’ launched earlier this year in order to compel business proprietors in the country to remit value added taxes.
The campaign which seeks to reward buyers with a cash prize of forty thousand kwacha for reporting business owners who fail to issue receipts, was suspended prematurely in January just days after its launch due to escalated numbers of coronavirus pandemic.
Announcing the resumption of the campaign at Msonkho house on Tuesday, MRA head of Cooperate Affairs Steve Kapoloma said the tax collector is aware that the premature suspension of the campaign might have given room to some business owners to devise other means to enable them still not issue receipts.
“We recognize that by now some business owners might have devised other means to beat our system. We are aware that others are issuing receipts with undervalued prices. Others are just issuing same receipts to different people who buy different commodities.
“We want the general public to be alert and report all these malpractices and owners of such businesses shall be penalised, said Kapoloma.
He further warned that business owners who become habitual non-tax compliant shall be taken to court for prosecution with their businesses closed.
Failure to issue an EFD receipt is an offence which attracts a maximum penalty of K500,000 according to section 46 of the Value Added Tax(VAT) act.
The Kuiphura ndi lisiti langa campaign is expected to be run for a period of 3 months from 1st March to 31st May starting with Blantyre and Limbe Central Business Districts and later the cities of Zomba, Mzuzu and Lilongwe.
