TAX STAMPS ENFORCEMENT ACCELERATED

GOVERNMENT through the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) is currently enhancing the enforcement of the digital tax stamps as a way of mitigating illicit products.

This measure requires all imported and locally manufactured cigarettes to have a tax stamp affixed on every pack before importation and sale, says Finance and National Planning Permanent Secretary for Budget and Economics, Mukuli Chikuba.

Mr Chikuba said importers/local manufacturers were therefore required to submit returns to ZRA as and when tax stamps were consumed.

He said this yesterday in Lusaka in a speech read for him by the Ministry’s Assistant Director-Trade Taxes Jonathan Phiri, at the Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR) Dissemination workshop on the “Consumption and pricing of new and emerging tobacco and nicotine products in Zambia: implications for Policy.”

“This information is matched against purchased tax stamps in order to mitigate illicit products,” Mr Chikuba said.

In particular, Mr Chikuba said, excise taxes were designed to discourage consumption of goods that were harmful or undesirable.

He also indicated that other measure controls included linking tobacco tariff codes to importer Tax Identification Numbers ( TPINs).

Mr Chikuba explained that this requirement was introduced in 2018 to further enhance existing controls against illicit tobacco trade.

He however acknowledged that revenue collection from the tobacco industry increased to K112 million in 2021 to K5 million.

Speaking earlier ZIPAR Executive Director Herrick Mpuku, said the tobacco industry played an important role in the economy, exporting worth US$160 million in 2020.

Dr Mpuku indicated that the country produced some of the best tobacco varieties in the world and highest earning cash crops compared to other crops. On the tobacco study launched yesterday, Dr Mphuku said specific objectives included examining the taxation of the products and to generate data on the types of new and emerging tobacco products consumed in Zambia, among others.