Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) through a promotion dubbed ‘Kuiphula ndi lisiti langa campaign’ is offering an instant cash reward of K40,000 to members of the general public who shall be reporting traders who fail to issue them with an Electronic Fiscal Device (EFD) generated receipt after a purchase.
The revenue body wants to foster remittance of Value Added Tax (VAT) among business operators in the country by encouraging the general public to demand for a receipt every time they make a purchase.
Launching the promotion on Tuesday at the Msonkho house in Blantyre, MRA Deputy Commissioner General Henry Ngutwa said after noting high rate of non-compliance on issuance of EFD receipts by most traders in the country, the revenue body thought of introducing the promotion in order to raise awareness among consumers in the country on the significance of demanding for an EFD receipt.
He also said the promotion is intended to remind business operators in the country on their obligations to issue EFD receipt for every sale they make. He said it is the hope of the revenue body that all traders shall continue to do so voluntarily even after the campaign.
He added that failure to do so is an offense under the VAT act which attracts a penalty of K 50000.
Ngutwa said: “Members of the general public are the best inspectors when it comes to the enforcement of tax remittance. As MRA we acknowledge that we cannot do this alone as it is not possible for our officers to be at every corner of the country where a trader is located hence our call to the general public to join this noble course.
“I would therefore emphasize that it is the duty of every well-meaning Malawian to ensure that correct amount of tax is duly paid. This means that everyone has a responsibility to demand for an EFD receipt after making a purchase” said deputy Commissioner Ngutwa.
On his part, MRA head of Corporate Affairs Steven Kapoloma warned the general public not to succumb to pressure by some traders who persuade them to make a purchase without a VAT on top saying it is cheap as such products turns out to be counterfeits.
However, speaking in a different interview consumer rights activist John Kapito urged the revenue body to come up with long term interventions to compel tax compliance among traders apart from instituting promotions periodically.
The ‘Kuiphula ndi Lisiti langa campaign’ shall be rolled out next week Monday, 11th January 2020 starting with Blantyre and Limbe central business areas with Zomba, Lilongwe and Mzuzu to follow a week after and shall run for three months till end March.
