By Tikondane Vega:
The Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) collected K161 billion in January 2023, beating the projected target with K16 billion.
MRA Commissioner General, John Bizwick made the remarks in Blantyre on Wednesday.
According to Bizwick, out of the K161 billion collected, K124 billion originated from domestic transactions.
He said as MRA clocks 23 years, it is important to note that the tax collecting body has made tremendous progress and will continue to do so in the interest of Malawis economy.
He said during the third quarter of 2022, MRA missed the target by approximately K4 billion.
MRA anticipated to collect over K396 billion but only managed to collect K391 billion representing 96 percent.
“The under collection can be attributed to several factors, among them, shortage of power supply that impacted local production and shortage of fuel that the country experienced during that quarter that also affected business.
“However, this still is a huge achievement looking at where we are coming from. During the previous years, in its early stages, MRA could collect K15 billion the whole year but now we are talking of over a trillion per year. We are very happy with what we have achieved for the past 23 years,” he said.
“Mathematically you would see that within four months from October, 2022 to January, 2023, MRA has collected over K553 billion. Some of these successes can be attributed to improvement in fuel availability, enforcement, engagement with stakeholders and dedication of staff members.
“Going forward, we would like people to see MRA as a friendly stakeholder and not an enemy to the public so that at 23 years and above we should continue to increase revenue collection.
MRA collected K748 billion between April to September, 2022 against a Treasury target of K742 billion, representing a 101 percent performance.
Taxation expert, Emmanuel Kaluluma told the media that, generally, in its operations, MRA is more efficient.
However, he cautioned that government should be prudent on expenditure.
“It is good to learn how MRA is fairing, however, government should tread carefully on use of the public purse. Otherwise, stealing the same money will discourage tax payers from complying,” he said.
MRA which has over 1, 500 employees across the country, has moved from manual to electronic transaction.
