The Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) has said it collected K1.14 trillion in the first nine months of the 2022-23 fiscal year, from April 2022 to December 2022.
MRA Commissioner General John Bizwick said this in Lilongwe on Tuesday when MRA appeared before the Budget and Finance Committee of Parliament.
According to Bizwick, the amount collected is K1.19 billion more than the targeted K1.138 trillion.
He said in order to meet its target for the fiscal year, MRA needs to collect K397 billion in the fourth quarter, between January and March 2023.
Bizwick attributed the improved revenue collection in the first nine months of the fiscal year to increased engagements with taxpayers on their tax obligations.
He added that tax collection benefitted from gains from tax policy changes of Pay As You Earn rate structure.
Looking ahead, Bizwick said the revenue collection body will maintain the positive trajectory.
“The prospects look good. If we can continue performing the way we have been performing over the past three quarters, we should be able to meet that target.
“So let’s just keep our fingers crossed and see what happens but we should be able to achieve that target, especially if forex is available and there is a continuation of flow of goods which will obviously make the private sector operate efficiently as well as the flow of very important goods from which we are able to collect taxes,” Bizwick said.
Budget and Finance Committee Chairperson, Gladys Ganda, said the committee will congratulate MRA on the matter formally when it has the full picture of tax collection when the finance minister presents them in the House.
Ganda said the committee would be interested to see growth in tax collection in real terms and not in absolute terms.
