The Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) says their Inland Examination Centres in Blantyre and Lilongwe, are playing a significant role in increasing revenue collection on containerized imports.
This is according to MRA Deputy Commissioner responsible for Blantyre Inland Examination Centre, Moses Masina, who was speaking when journalists toured the facility to appreciate the examination process.
Masina said for instance, the Blantyre Inland Examination Center which was established in 2022, does physical inspections of containers that enter the country through the Mwanza, Dedza as well as Songwe borders.
He further said that because their officers are given more time to do the physical inspections to verify what has been declared at the borders and ensure that there is compliance in terms of the customs and excise law, the facility has helped in increasing revenue collection.
“So when the goods arrive here, our officers cross-check the quantities, and qualities of the declarations at the same time.
“What we have seen after the establishment of the Inland Examination Centre in 2022, is an increase in terms of revenue collection because we give our officers room so that they can conduct the inspections in an appropriate environment and results can come through.
“At the same time, the Inland Examination Center has made it possible for us to have minimal time in doing inspections because we have space here but we also have tools like forklifts that assist us to do the examinations promptly,” said Masina.
He then mentioned technical smuggling as one of the challenges that is haunting the Authority, as some importers continue to under-declare their goods and falsify invoices in trying to pay less tax than their imported goods.
“Technical smuggling is a big issue in MRA, and one of the reasons why we established this inspection center is to mitigate that practice.
We have noted that people under-declare goods and also falsify their invoices. So this inland examination center has brought in accountability to make sure that whatever goods are being brought here are inspected and verified,” added Masina.
He also indicated that when the inspection team detects an under-declaration or falsification of invoices, they issue penalties and also demand the owners to account and pay for the goods they did not pay duty for at the borders.
