Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) commissioner general Kingsley Chanda speaks to journalists in Lusaka during a joint press briefing with ZAMTEL on Octber 31, 2017 - Picture By Tenson Mkhala
THE Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) still owes mining companies a total of K7.1 billion in VAT refunds, says ZRA Commissioner General Kingsley Chanda. And Chanda has announced that the Authority paid a total of K12.9 billion in tax refunds to all businesses last year. Meanwhile, Chanda says government’s targeted K59.3 billion in tax revenues this year will be challenging to achieve given Zambia’s significant economic contraction last year amid the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking during a media briefing in Lusaka, Wednesday, Chanda said despite the Authority paying K8.5.
By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read A truck travels to a depth of 516 metres below the surface to collect ore at the Chibuluma copper mine in the Zambian copperbelt region, file. REUTERS/Rogan Ward/File Photo
LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia paid 8.5 billion kwacha ($400 million) in value-added tax refunds to mining companies last year, the head of the tax authority said on Wednesday, equal to about 3.5% of the external debt that the southern African country is struggling to repay.
Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer, is negotiating with creditors to try to get debt relief, after it defaulted on a $42.5 million coupon in November.
The Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has announced that it collected a net collection of K57.7 billion last year.
ZRA Commissioner General Kingsley Chanda says this outturn was 17.7 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) compared to 17.8 percent of GDP in 2019.
Mr. Chanda says when measured against the Parliament target, this revenue outturn was K1.3 billion or 2.2 percent below target. The ZRA boss said this at a press briefing on the performance of the Zambia Revenue Authority in 2020 and the prospects for 2021.
“This performance is highly commendable for which I would like to applaud my management team and staff for this extraordinary effort under difficult circumstances. May I also mention that this performance relates to taxes collected by the Zambia Revenue Authority and does not include revenue collected by other government departments in form of non-tax revenue. I further would like to indicate that the Ministry of Finance will at an appropriate time and in line with its
The Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) and the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) have signed a bilateral Memorandum of Standing (MoU) aimed at strengthening the collaboration in combating and preventing tax crimes and drug trafficking.
The MoU is also targeted at addressing issues of money laundering and other offences related to the importation and exportation of prohibited or controlled goods or substances and cash.
And Attorney General Likando Kalaluka has underscored the need for the country to have effective mechanisms, collaboration and coordination in the fight against tax crimes, money laundering and other vices.
Mr. Kalaluka explained that Zambia is a member of the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) which has set requirements for countries to have a well-coordinated effort in money laundering at the highest level of their operations.