Traders end VAT system protest, to open today

Traders protesting the newly introduced electronic invoicing system (EIS) for value-added tax (VAT) collection have resolved to reopen their businesses today. In an interview yesterday, Small Scale Business Importers and Exporters Association of Malawi chairperson Robert Nachamba said the association agreed that the business shutdown would end yesterday before fully reopening today. He said the closure of shops in most parts of the country was deliberate in protest of the EIS introduced by Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) replacing electronic fiscal devices (EFDs).

“We agreed to shutdown all our shops from Monday to Wednesday protesting the new system. This means that all the shops will fully be opened tomorrow [today] as we are still engaging MRA on the matter,” said Nachamba. He said the association will this morning meet MRA officials in Blantyre as part of the continued discussion between the two parties.

Yesterday, shop owners in the country’s cities and major urban centres entered the sixth day of business shutdown. Checks in Blantyre’s key commercial hubs such as Limbe, Blantyre central business district (CBD), Ginnery Corner, Wenela and Chichiri as well as in Zomba, Mangochi and Lilongwe show that most shops remained closed since Friday. In Limbe, however, there were signs of a gradual return to nomalcy with about 39 out of 125 shops monitored yesterday were open, an improvement from Monday, when only six out of 136 shops were operating.

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Earlier yesterday morning, divisions emerged among shop owners over planned demonstrations against the EIS despite Small Scale Business Importers and Exporters Association of Malawi announcing last evening the suspension of a nationwide shutdown and protests that were scheduled for the day. In Limbe and Mangochi, there was uncertainty with some shop owners gathering in small groups to deliberate on whether to proceed with the demonstrations. However, Nachamba attributed the division to the late decision to announce the postponement of the planned demonstrations.

Meanwhile, Mzuzu traders yesterday called off planned demonstrations against the EIS after a late invitation to talks and accused MRA of issuing conflicting compliance figures and ignoring their concerns. Northern Region Business Association said it halted the protests to allow dialogue after receiving communication from MRA on Tuesday evening inviting representatives to a stakeholders’ meeting in Blantyre scheduled for 2pm the following day. The association’s vice-chairperson Leonard Njikho said the notice came too late to organise travel, forcing them to request a postponement while suspending the demonstrations.

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