Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) has launched the Taxpayer Charter which stipulates the rights and obligations of taxpayers.
The charter also contains standards for service committed to taxpayers and other stakeholders.
Through the charter, the authority is commiting to provide the best standards of service not only once but every time when dealing with taxpayers.
Speaking after the launch, Board Chairman of Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) Vizenge Kumwenda said the charter is very important because it will bring clarity in terms of the way MRA officials are going to interact with taxpayers.
Vizenge also noted that the Charter is one of the many steps to demonstrate that as MRA they have heard what the taxpayers are saying and they are committed to improve their service delivery.
“The Taxpayers’ Charter is very important for us because it was one way of engaging our taxpayers. You know MRA is doing a lot of reforms, so that it develops into professional tax authority and we are developing these reforms so that MRA should approach its work in a service oriented manner where it should be there to help taxpayers pay their taxes, help taxpayers with information that they need for them to comply and so on,” said Kumwenda.
Kumwenda further noted that as MRA right now they are doing a lot of reforms and the objective behind those reforms is to make MRA a professional revenue Authority.
“MRA has got values, service excellence, transparency and many others. Now as professional, if we are to conduct our services in a professional manner we need to embrace those values such that we are able to assist our tax payers we should help them comply with the tax obligations in a manner that is respectful, that is efficient and is not expensive.
“So all that requires our people to be dedicated to duty, it requires our people to be discplined, it requires our people to be honest, it requires our people to be above board and be exemplary.
“The taxpayers will have confidence in our system, they will have confidence in the tax system and once they are confident they will start complying with the tax obligations in a voluntary manner and for us to raise more taxes, we need to have taxpayers to come forward on their own without our officers chasing them to come forward,” said Kumwenda.
In his remarks, Commissioner General of MRA John Biziwick said the Taxpayers Charter will enhance service delivery because as MRA they are intending to define the standards they will provide to taxpayers.
He added that the Taxpayers Charter is one of the tools which will help MRA move towards their vision which is “To be a Modern Revenue Administration known for excellent service”.
According to Biziwick, through the Charter, MRA pledges to always act with the highest level of integrity, transparency, utmost courtesy, fairness and respect when serving the customer, among others.
He added that as MRA they believe that the implementation of the Charter will enhance service delivery, improve tax compliance and build trust between MRA and the public.
On his part, Deputy President of Malalwi Confederation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) Boyd Luwe said the launch of the charter will make the relationship between business community and MRA good, more transparent and will see more campanies being tax compliant.
“We are very excited with the launch of taxpayers charter. We have always felt that there are a lot of businesses especially small SMEs that are outside the tax administration bracket. What this charter has done is to bring more clarity in terms of the way MRA is going to be interacting with taxpayers, as you are aware that private sector is the biggest constituency in terms of tax, we are very excited and our hope and prayer is that looking at the charter it will bring more trust it will bring more credibility,” said Luwe.
MRA has since encouraged the business community and the general public to always refer to the charter in order to fully understand their rights and obligations.
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