Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) will from May 1, 2022 start implementing a three percent Advanced Income Tax (AIT) on goods imported for commercial purposes.
MRA’s Deputy Commissioner of Customs and Exercise, Chimwemwe Kawalewale announced this on Tuesday during a press briefing saying that the AIT is aimed at bringing the informal sector into the tax net and enhance tax compliance.
“MRA is implementing Advance Income Tax on imports to level the playing field and ensure that all businesses are paying their fair share of taxes due. For a very long time, MRA has been accused of not doing enough to bring the informal sector or ‘brief case businesses’ and that has put a lot of burden on few taxpayers,” he said.
Kawalewale said compliant registered taxpayers would not be subjected to AIT because they already have valid Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) or Withholding Tax Exemption Certificate(WHTEC) issued by MRA.
Making a presentation on AIT, Taxpayer Education Manager, Mc Hizzal Kawanga, said apart from exempting imports by persons who have produced a valid WHTEC or TCC, imports by persons for personal use would not be subjected to AIT as well.
By Zainab Phiri – Malawi News Agency
