Malawi Government says it will not hesitate to issue penalties against traders that are still charging Value Added Tax (VAT) on cooking oil.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has said this in a statement released yesterday and signed by Minister responsible Mark Katsonga.
Government recently removed 16.5 percent VAT on cooking oil and Katsonga said the ministry has observed that suppliers of cooking oil have not followed suit to reduce prices by the VAT percentage.
He added that the ministry expects suppliers of cooking to cease and desist from charging VAT on cooking oil.
“The Ministry wishes to inform the country that the Ministry of Trade and Industry together with CFTC (Competition and Fair Trading Commission) have dispatched teams to all cooking oil outlets in the country to conduct inspections and take action against all traders that are still charging VAT on cooking oil,” said Katsonga.
Cooking oil prices observed this week indicate that some shops have reduced prices by about K1000 since the VAT removal came into effect. A two litre bottle of cooking oil which was at about K7000 in the last week of March, is now at K6000 in various shops.
