Ministry to enforce tourism levy
The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism through the Department of Tourism has embarked on an exercise to enforce the tourism levy. All tourism businesses are supposed to collect the levy from tourists.
The enforcement exercise was launched on June 26, according to the ministry’s Principal Secretary Cliff Chiunda.
The one percent tourism levy as stipulated in the Tourism and Hotels Act CAP 50:01 of the laws of Malawi provides that every designated tourism enterprise remit monthly tourism marketing levy by the 12th day of the following month.
Chiunda said the funds collected are used for destination marketing and improvement of infrastructure.
“A team of officers and auditors from the department of tourism will conduct a nationwide exercise to ensure that all tourism enterprises are compliant and current in terms of monthly remittances to the department’s offices across the country.
“During this exercise, all those units that are noncompliant will be closed down and will only be re-opened after clearing all outstanding levies,” Chiunda said.
He further appealed to all tourism enterprises to have their records ready for inspection during the exercise as it is a requirement.
“The Department of Tourism is mandated to verify all levy remittances. All tourism enterprises are being reminded that it is illegal to collect the levy and fail to remit it to the authorities by the stipulated date and this is a punishable offence by law,” he said.
