Two fined for EFD receipts forgery
Two people who were convicted recently by the Blantyre Magistrate Court for forgery and evasion of Value Added Tax (VAT) have been charged to pay a fine of K250, 000 each or face a six-months jail term.
This is according to a statement released by the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) on Friday.
The offences are in violation of Section 48 and section 49 of the VAT Act.
According to the statement, the two are Andrew Mkome who comes from Phekani Village, Tradition Authority (T/A) Kachindamoto in Dedza District and Francis Phambiwa of Chapweteka Village, T/A Juma in Mulanje District.
MRA Head of Corporate Affairs, Steven Kapoloma said in the statement that the two were convicted after pleading guilty on both counts.
“MRA discovered that between July and September this year, the convicts forged EFD receipts worth K490, 500 with the intent to evade payment of VAT. They also defrauded Government about K69, 036.95 in VAT revenue,” Kapoloma said.
The Authority has since appealed to the public to always demand EFD generated receipts and also report cases of tax evasion to MRA stations.
In March 2014, MRA introduced the Electronic Fiscal Devices as a tax compliance tool aimed at simplifying and enhancing VAT collection by the organisation.
