Malawians laud Tambulasi over new taxation system

MRA Commissioner General blasts traders over shop closures, says EIS is not negotiable

Malawians are lauding new MRA Commissioner General Felix Tambulasi for his resolute and firm stance against traders opposing the Malawi Revenue Authority’s Electronic Invoicing System (EIS). Tambulasi says MRA will not back down and has blasted traders over shop closures, saying EIS is not negotiable.

Speaking during a press briefing in Blantyre, Tambulasi said it is surprising that traders are resisting the system, stressing that it is ordinary Malawians and not traders who ultimately pay VAT, currently at 17.5 percent.

“Traders are not the ones paying tax. It is Malawians who pay tax. Traders are only a channel through which government collects that tax. So one would even ask: when they close their shops, does that mean they are no longer collecting tax?” Tambulasi said.

Tambulasi revealed that out of 9,000 businesses registered for Value Added Tax (VAT) in Malawi, about 7,500 have already registered under the EIS platform, questioning why MRA should give in to a smaller group still resisting the system.

“Should we listen to the few who are refusing, when 7,500 have already complied?” he asked.

As we earlier reported, MRA has maintained that it will not reverse its decision to implement EIS, arguing that there was enough consultation on the matter since August last year when the system was first introduced. The authority insists the new system is key to improving tax compliance and transparency in Malawi.

Malawi24 previously reported that the EIS works by automatically transmitting VAT data directly to MRA in real time, making it impossible for businesses to collect tax from customers and withhold remittance. Critics have pointed out that the resistance from traders raises uncomfortable questions about how the old Electronic Fiscal Device system was being mis-used.