By Isaac Salima:
Traders under Limbe Indigenous Shop Owners, in conjunction with Small-scale Business Importers and Exporters Association, Thursday invaded Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) head office in Blantyre, where they presented a petition expressing displeasure with the introduction of an electronic invoicing system (EIS).
MRA plans to roll out the EIS this coming Sunday, transitioning from electronic fiscal devices (EFD), with the aim of modernising tax administration, enhancing efficiency and reducing costs for taxpayers and the authority.
The traders have since indicated, in a petition, that they are not happy with the development.
They say the system is not conducive to them as it will demand a lot from them.
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“We would like MRA to abolish it because the system will, among other things, demand us [sic] to make a number of declarations. The system will demand us [sic] to respond as to the date or year we started our businesses, where we got our capital, how much capital we started with, our current capital and how much goods we have in our shops.
“This system will require the [use of the] internet, which is not reliable in the country and most of us are not educated enough to ably respond to it,” says then petition, which Limbe Indigenous Shop Owners Secretary Chisomo Rodger has signed.
MRA Commissioner of Domestic Taxes Grey Balawe said that they would discuss the issue.
“We have received the petition and will take it to our Commissioner General and we will sit down and respond to it. We will try to respond [to them] as soon as possible,” he said.
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Balawe further said the new system aims to replace the old one, which he said had some challenges.
“The old system [EFD] had plenty of leakages, the machines were scarce and expensive to the taxpayer,” he said.