Date Of Article: 9/27/2002
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MRA extends surtax implementation to Nov.
By: Ayam Maeresa
The Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) has extended the implementation of surtax by one more month to November 1 from October 1 to finalise preparations, acting commissioner general Ernest Mtingwi said yesterday. Mtingwi said in an interview in Blantyre that the extension will, however, not affect the registration process whose deadline remains the end of this month. Coming under the Surtax Act of 2001, the 20 percent levy extended to the wholesale and retail sectors intends to boost government’s domestic revenue base by an estimated K600 million annually. “We have shifted the surtax liability to November 1 because we want to ensure that all those eligible for registration for surtax are registered,” said Mtingwi, adding that MRA will send out its officers across the country to facilitate the exercise. He said the extension will also give MRA time to dispatch surtax certificates to registered agents to start collecting surtax on behalf of government. Mtingwi said MRA will during the same period sensitise the business community on how best to calculate output surtax. Said Mtingwi: “The idea is to ensure that there is no confusion when surtax liability starts. It’s better to take time and do correct things.” The development comes right after a meeting of MRA officials with members of the Asian business community in Blantyre on Tuesday, where several concerns pertaining to the surtax were raised. The community argues that although it was not against the idea of surtax, government needed to iron out issues like unregistered vendors. An Asian businessman, who declined to be named, said there was quite a considerable volume of trade between shop owners and the vendors, most of whom act as sourcing agents for goods for the shop owners. “We also think it is unfair for the MRA to demand that we pay surtax on goods sold on credit in 30 days because in business there are so many eventualities,” he said.
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