The Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) will undertake a tax compliance audit on Copperbelt based millers as soon as the list of those that have an agreement with the government is cleared by the Commissioner General’s office.
ZRA Indirect Taxes Acting Commissioner, Shadreck Kachusha said the authority will undertake the assignment where it will look at all interests of the nation.
Mr. Kachusha said during a meeting that was called by Copperbelt Province Minister Japhen Mwakalombe in Ndola yesterday that once the list of millers under the tripartite agreement with the government is cleared, the authority will ensure that a thorough job whose outcome should be a win-win situation is done.
And Mr. Mwakalombe said it was a pit that some millers in the province have allegedly resorted not to be issuing sales invoices to the clients, a situation he said is robbing the government of resources.
ZANIS reports that Mr. Mwakalombe said the government is not just losing money through the exploitation of consumers due to escalated prices of mealie meal but also through tax evasion.
He said the government will not hesitate to revoke trading licenses for millers that will be found wanting.
He described the behaviour of millers as tantamount to criminal.
And speaking earlier, Copperbelt Province Permanent Secretary, Bright Nundwe said there are 11 millers that are under the tripartite agreement in the Copperbelt province.
Yesterday, the Copperbelt Province Minister called on ZRA to conduct a thorough audit on tax compliance on Copperbelt based millers.
If found wanting the deal must be stoped and be given to others who are serious and penalty must be excised on the millers found wanting.
We are coming for you. I think lusambo showed you that we are not scared when it comes to standing up for our people. We know which has been buying or paying people to buy mealie meal so as to inflate prices. Treasonous chap
Milling and bakery business on the Copperbelt is dominated by Greeks and they’re family businesses. Unfortunately most Greeks are not honest in their conduct of business. It’s why KK nationalized their milling plants. Even when their ancestors have passed on, the descendants have inherited the dishonesty. What kind of people are these? They’re not good for our economy. Mwakalombe please be tough with them
Others are giving tax breaks and all sorts of incentives to save industries, you are doing the opposite especially now with this coronavirus pandemic. Someone please advice PF , Ngandu recently pointed to a bad economy after corona and all PF can think of is forcing these millers out and the poor will suffer in the end since all PF cares about is money they can collect from people and businesses
ZRA presumed corrupt until contrary is established. Hw can there be so much commercial property development in Zambia and yet the banks aren’t lending any money for this type of activity? Property development requires lots of money. Where’s it coming from? It’s ZRA’s job to find out.
I know the milling business myself. It’s a low-margin business characterized by lots of competition as Caleb Mulenga found out. ZRA is running aftr wrong people. Wht about Lungu’s solar milling plants? Wht’s going on there? Where’s maize meal from there? Remember they were launched wth fanfare of the kind only the PF govt is capable of.
Isnt Milling exempt from tax. When you say losing on revenue what do you mean. journalist take interest in some of these things… I would have thought the audit is to ascertain if the maize gotten is being pushed to lower the mealie meal price through checking the production cards against what was offloaded by FRA. Mwakolombe come out clean please
Again here corrupt PF regime using a govt institution to fight its battles …am sure corrupt Bowman and Japhen Mwakalombe have a list of millers who didnt give in to their Kaponya bullying. ZRA does not need to announce something like this…
Nemwine – You might as well write off those 2000 Chinese Solar Hammer Mills bought via the “not so smart” Presidential Initiative scheme as bad debt …to add insult to injury PF wants to build bigger Milling Plants to distribute maize during elections. These are clueless callboys with no knowledge of basic economic principles they just know bullying and threats.
Whn KK nationalised the milling firms, it ws for a reason ad a good one. Bt whn Chiluba ad MMD took over thm they thot all wht hd Kaunda’s touch, ws evil, all industries were sold off ad run down. It’s hs back fired to all innocent Zambians who didn’t come up with such plans, we lost jobs, some hv died bcoz of hardships in the name of privatisation.
In Chingola these an INDECO milling plant – United Milling near Lulamba Township built by KK ad its govt. Tht thing today it hs bn run down, its a shell, during KK it ws fully working bt whn Chiluba ad MMD come into power, it was run down. Ad today no politician talk or hv plans for tht thing which is an agro project, bt u hear thm, talking abt diversification into agro from mining, ad tht thing is an agro plant, thn which agro are they…
@ayatollah well said, these Greek millers do not mean well for Zambia. Nationalise the milling companies isbthe best and wisest move.