Hopes of improved trade activities between Malawi and Tanzania have been revived following the establishment of an Electronic Data Exchange System at Kasumulu boarder.
The platform aims at promoting trade facilitation, enhancing revenue collection, and securing movement of goods under imports, exports and transit regimes through the real time and accurate sharing of information between the tax bodies of the two countries.
It also comes amid concerns of increased undervaluing of goods among traders as well as the proliferation of smuggling goods and other dangerous materials between the two countries.
According to officials from the two revenue collecting agencies, the platform will therefore enable them to verify quantities, valuation, origin and tariffs of goods exported and transiting between the two countries therefore maximising on revenue collection.
Mcha Hassan Mcha Deputy Commissioner General of the Tanzania Revenue Authority said through the sharing of real time and accurate information of goods passing through the borders of the two countries, time ad other resources spent to clear goods by traders will greatly be reduced therefore enhancing trade activities.
“Our people used to spend a lot time on our borders just to clear their goods but with this system, all that will be reduced therefore facilitating trade and this will lead into the maximisation of revenue collection between the two countries,” explained Hassan.
On her part, Agness Katsonga Phiri, Malawi Revenue Authority’s executive director for corporate services said with the system in place, they hope to reduce cases of smuggling and undervaluing goods that pass through the two nations.
According to Katsonga Phiri, the system provides the two revenue collectors a chance to share real time information on goods passing through the borders of the two countries therefore making it easy for them to track if the goods declared at one post have really made it to the destination as indicated in their transit documents.
“We all have similar challenges and smuggling is one biggest problem we have. However, this system helps us to track goods and ensure that goods declared at the entry post make it through to their destination and will also help us deal with the challenge of undervaluing goods by traders,” observed Katsonga Phiri.
Meanwhile, Katsonga Phiri said she also hopes that the new system will assist in improving the ranking of the two countries in as far as time spent to clear goods between the borders of the countries is concerned.
Alex Kipyagon programs manager for digital trade services at Trade Mark Africa said the integration of the systems of the two tax collection bodies will enhance timely validation of information of goods to ensure that declarations on imports and exports are accurate.
The system which was launched on Monday 5th June 2023, is a UK government funded project through the Trade Mark Africa at a cost of about two hundred thousand United States dollars.