By Loveness Lega:
The Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) has said rental income tax and the electronic invoicing system (EIS) are not new regimes in Malawi.
The development follows protests against EIS in some parts of the country, including Blantyre, Zomba and Mzuzu cities.
MRA Head of Corporate Affairs Wilma Chalulu said this in Mzuzu City Monday during a media training on EIS and rental income tax in a bid to raise public awareness on the two.
Chalulu said EIS was an upgrade of existing electronic fiscal devices (EFDs) owing to technological advancements, among other reasons.
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She said the bottom line was to modernise tax administration, improve Value Added Tax (Vat) compliance and reduce cases of tax evasion by levelling the playing field.
She also acknowledged that some people were reluctant to adopt the digital system.
“Malawi is not the first country to introduce this system and this system has worked well in other countries, resulting into development,” Chalulu said.
Chalulu said MRA would soon embark on a nationwide registration exercise of landlords and landladies to ensure that there was compliance to rental income tax laws.
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Ironically, on February 2 this year, members of the Northern Region business community said they would not relent until MRA stopped the implementation of EIS indefinitely.
Speaking after presenting a petition to officials at MRA office in Mzuzu, the traders said rolling out the system now would severely harm businesses, consumers, government operations and revenue.
Their stance came after MRA announced that it had extended the pilot phase of the EIS from February 1, 2026 to April 30, 2026 following consultations and feedback from stakeholders.
MRA said during this period, the EIS would run parallel with EFDs to allow for a smooth transition.
However, chairperson of the traders Chembe Kasambala said they had given MRA 10 days to respond to their demands or face continued protests.
Kasambara argued that there was no broad-based consultation with small and medium enterprises, traders and regional business communities prior to making the decision.
“We respectfully request that the Malawi Revenue Authority reconsider, withdraw and halt the current implementation plan until national economic, institutional and infrastructure conditions are first stabilised and aligned,” he said.
He said the business community felt increasingly targeted by tax policies while struggling to survive in what they said was a harsh economic environment.
According to traders, the system will force them to reveal detailed and sensitive business information, including how they started their businesses as well as the full list of stock in their shops, among other things.
Similar protests were conducted in Blantyre and Zomba.
