MWANAKATWE WARNS SMUGGLERS

GOVERNMENT will clamp down on anyone including clearing agents engaged in smuggling goods into Zambia as they are contributing to loss of revenue, Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe has warned.

Ms Mwanakatwe said it was unfortunate that some people had resorted to smuggling goods into the country instead of paying the required taxes.

Government, she said, would continue clamping down on any smuggling activities by anyone including clearing agents.

She was speaking at the weekend in Nakonde during a stakeholders’ engagement on sales tax.

"We are losing money and I am happy to say that the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) is speeding up its game. We will catch you as we are going to be tracking the goods.

“We are going to clamp down on smuggling. I only have 16, 000 taxpayers paying taxes imagine if I had 300, 000 people paying Mwanakatwe said.

The minister also said Government was ready to make adjustments to the proposed sales tax. At the same function, Nakonde Customs Clearing Executive Committee chairman, Stephen Chileshe urged Government to reduce taxes for motor vehicles which were three years or less to encourage people to buy seminew and durable cars.

Mr Chileshe said the standard taxes of motor vehicle had highly affected the inflow of imported motor vehicles.

He emphasised that motor vehicles were no longer a luxury but a necessity which everyone should possess irrespective of their status in the society.

“It should be noted that apart from taxes collected by customs there is also other accompanying taxes and penalties from other Government agencies such as the Zambia Bureau of Standards,” he said.

M r tax," Ms Chileshe said much as Government wanted to collect more revenue for development, there must be areas where people should have some relief.

He also complained of many checkpoints of goods which had already been declared at the border.

Mr

Chileshe had since demanded uniformity of valuation on all related goods to lessen road interventions. “There is no consistency in the manner valuation methods are implemented such as different standard values as well as freight amongst all the entry ports,” he said. Meanwhile, Mr Chileshe said the recent announcement by the ZRA Commissionergeneral, Kingsley Chanda of launching an online system for self-clearing of goods would result in job losses of about 10,000.