ZRA unveils new Mongu complex
THE Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has opened a regional office in Mongu in its quest to reach out to far-flung areas, as it plans to launch another digital tax app.
The office complax launched yesterday was procured from Standard Chartered Bank at K1.5 million which was later renovated to fit ZRA needs.
ZRA Commissioner General, , said the opening of the new offices was part of the organisation's transformation agenda to take services closer to the people.
Mr Chanda said there were taxpayers in other far-flung areas and that it was only wise that the organisation took its presence there to increase the level of compliance.
"We shall soon launch another office in Muchinga Province within this year. Our plan is to have our own offices in all Provincial Centres and later start owning and opening offices at District level.
"This is all aimed at ensuring that we capture everyone in the tax bracket for increased revenue collection," he said during the launch of the offices.
He announced that ZRA last year decided to increase the staffing levels in Mongu and upgraded the station to a regional hub.
As a result, Mr Chanda said, ZRA had already seen an increase in collections by 17 percent.
Meanwhile, Mr Chanda announced that ZRA would soon be launching Tax on App and Taxonline customs which were being worked on by the organisation's system programmers at the innovation hub.
"Taxonline is the main backbone of all our systems. It is complemented by various innovations that we have rolled out such as tax on phone and tax via whats app," he said.
ZRA, Mr Chanda said, believed that digitalisation has had a major transformative effect on economic fundamentals and was highly beneficial to the economy.
He explained that this was the reason wanted to ensure that all ZRA services were accessed on all digital platforms.
Mr Chanda said ZRA's transformation agenda was unstoppable because it was determined to change and offer a service that was compared to non-in Zambia.
And ZRA Commissioner Indirect taxes and excise, Moses Shuko, said the opening on the Mongu office building office indicated the Commitment his organisation pursued in offering efficient service delivery.
Before the launch of the office building on the same day, ZRA donated assorted goods which were seized from smuggling activities worth K80,000.
The donated items include 105 cases of cooking oil and 26 bags of flour.
Beneficiaries include Mongu General Hospital and Chesire Homes, Emmanuel orphanage, Kids Alive, Jala Homes and Micheal Saupe Memorial Foundation.