TRA, regional revenue authorities set to wage war against tax evaders

By Correspondent

Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA)

As a way to check tax evaders across the borders, the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) plans to conduct joint inspections and share information with key stakeholders in the neighbouring countries.


TRA Commissioner for Customs and Excise, Tiagi Kabisi made the remarks on Tuesday in Dar es Salaam when closing the two-day dialogue which discussed how Tanzania can modernise trade for economic growth.

He said that key stakeholders in the country will also be involved in the inspection of goods at the borders. He mentioned them as the Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA), Tanzania Bureau of Standard (TBS), Fair Competition Commission (FCC) and security organs. He said such a move would ensure effective revenue collections at the borders.

He asserted that TRA together with all the key stakeholders will be working jointly to fight illegal imports and exports of commodities.
He said that apart from improving tax collections, the move would also ensure safety and quality of the products imported/exported.

“We have new standard systems in automatic exchange of information between tax authorities. This will provide a step change in our ability to clamp down on tax evasion, which reduces public revenue and increases the burden on those who pay their taxes,” he said.

For his Part, Finnish Ambassador Sinikka Antila said that her government will continue to assist Tanzania especially in border areas by ensuring that security is available so as to strengthen trade capacity and increase income.

Antila said the main area of cooperation that has been identified as best practice is information exchange and joint operations such as inspections of cross-border traffic and criminal pre-trial investigations.

She said Finland will continue to support the Tanzanian economy to diversity and grow in a way that creates more jobs for the youths and a growing population.

“Tanzanian companies need to be globally competitive and to take part in global part chains as well as improve the business infrastructure and environment,” he said. She advised Tanzania to integrate the economy with that of other countries so as to attract investments in the manufacturing sector.

She cited the examples of countries such India and China which have been able to attract investments in manufacturing due to their large domestic markets and integrating economies. 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN