Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) on Friday launched a campaign in Limbe, Blantyre to sentise consumers to the importance of demanding an electronic fiscal receipt for every purchase they make.
The event, dubbed Electronic Fiscal Device (EFD) Lisiti Langa Awareness Campaign, was attended by chiefs, businesspersons, consumers, members of Parliament (MPs) and Blantyre City mayor Noel Chalamanda.
The launch started with a big walk led by Malawi Police Brass Band from Limbe Post Office to Illovo Sugar (Malawi) Limited Roundabout down Livingstone Avenue and back to the post office.
In her remarks, MRA board chairperson Evelyn Mwapasa said every consumer must always demand an electronic fiscal receipt after every transaction to ensure that the value added tax (VAT) collected goes into government coffers.
“For your information, right now there are over 10 000 EFDs that have been bought and are currently in use by all VAT-registered businesses and this has enabled government to collect more revenue,’’ she said.
Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama) executive director John Kapito emphasised that it is the right of every consumer to demand a receipt after every business transaction.
“The EFD system is there to ascertain that VAT does not go into someone’s pocket but to government for building of roads, schools and buying of drugs in our hospitals,” he said.
Chalamanda urged MRA to intensify inspections and VAT registrations in cities, markets and many other places.
“This will bring more people into the tax net and also cement the culture of always demanding receipts,” he said.
A representative of Blantyre and Limbe Business Community ,Ali Mohamed, pledged that they will sustain compliance with tax laws.
