CHAPTER 39:07
MALAWI REVENUE AUTHORITY
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
SECTION
PART I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title
2. Interpretation
PART II
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MALAWI REVENUE AUTHORITY
3. Establishment of the Authority
4. Functions of the Authority
5. Powers of the Authority
6. Taxpayer identification and exchange of information
7. Duty of the Minister to determine fiscal policies, etc.
PART III
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BOARD OF THE AUTHORITY
8. Establishment of the Board
9. Vacation of members from office
10. Meetings of the Board
11. Disclosure of interest
12. Invited persons
13. Committees of the Board
14. Remuneration and expenses of members
15. Powers of the Board
16. Exemptions, etc.
PART IV
ADMINISTRATION OF THE AUTHORITY
17. Appointment of Commissioner-General and Deputy Commissioner-General
18. Appointment of revenue commissioners, etc.
PART V
FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
19. Revenue to be paid into the Consolidated Fund
20. Funds of the Authority
21. Books and other records of accounts and audit
22. Annual reports
23. Financial year
PART VI
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
24. Confidentiality
25. Exemption from personal liability
26. Regulations
27. Vesting of assets, liabilities, etc.
28. Construction and modification of other written laws
14 of 1998
26 of 2004
G.N. 4/2000
20/2001
24/2002
21/2007
9/2015
14/2015
An Act to provide for the establishment of the Malawi Revenue Authority as a main body responsible for the assessment and collection, on behalf of the Government, of specified revenue; for the administration and enforcement of laws relating to such revenue; and to provide for matters incidental thereto or connected therewith
[15TH FEBRUARY 2000]
PART I
PRELIMINARY
This Act may be cited as the Malawi Revenue Authority Act.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
“Authority” means the Malawi Revenue Authority established under section 3;
“Board” means the Board of the Authority established under section 9;
“Chairman” means the Chairman of the Board designated as such under section 9 (2);
“Commissioner-General” means the Commissioner-General of the Authority appointed under section 17 (1);
“Deputy Commissioner-General” means the Deputy Commissioner-General of the Authority appointed under section 17 (11);
“member” means a member of the Board;
“revenue” means the taxes, duties, fees, fines or other monies imposed by or collected under the written laws, or the specified provisions of the written laws, set out in the Schedule.
PART II
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MALAWI REVENUE AUTHORITY
3. Establishment of the Authority
There is hereby established a body to be known as the Malawi Revenue Authority (in this Act otherwise referred to as the “Authority”) which shall be—
(a) a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal;
(b) in its corporate name, capable of suing and being sued;
(c) capable of holding, purchasing and otherwise acquiring and disposing of any property, moveable and immoveable, for purposes of, or in the course of carrying out its functions; and
(d) doing or performing all such acts and things as bodies corporate may by law do or perform.
(1) The Authority shall be an agency of the Government responsible for the assessment, collection and receipt of specified revenue, and shall be accountable to and operate under the general supervision of the Minister.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the functions of the Authority shall be—
(a) to administer and enforce the laws or the specified provisions of the laws set out in the Schedule;
(b) to promote voluntary tax compliance to the highest degree possible;
(c) to take such measures as may be required to improve the standards of service given to taxpayers with a view to improving efficiency and effectiveness and maximizing revenue collection;
(d) to take such measures as may be required to counteract tax fraud and other forms of fiscal evasion;
(e) to advise the Minister on matters of revenue policy and matters relating to the administration and collection of revenue under the laws listed in the Schedule; and
(f) to perform such other functions in relation to revenue as the Minister may direct.
(3) The Minister may, by notice published in the Gazette, amend the Schedule.
The Authority shall, in the discharge of its functions, have power—
(a) to study revenue laws and identify amendments which may be made to any law for the purpose of improving the administration of, and compliance with, revenue laws;
(b) to study the administrative costs, compliance costs and the operational impact of intended legislative changes, and to advise the Minister accordingly;
(c) to collect and process statistics needed to provide forecasts of revenue receipts and the effect on yield of any proposals for changes in revenue laws, and to advise the Minister accordingly; and
(d) to take such other measures as the Authority deems necessary or desirable for the achievement of the purposes or provisions of this Act.
6. Taxpayer identification and exchange of information
(1) The Authority shall, with the approval of the Minister, by notice in the Gazette, provide for the establishment, maintenance, and application of systems for the convenient and effectual identification of taxpayers for the purpose of co-ordinated administration of the revenue laws of Malawi.
(2) Without prejudice to subsection (1), it shall be lawful for officers in the revenue departments of the Authority to exchange or furnish each other with information or documents concerning any taxpayer and for the purposes of the discharge of functions under this Act.
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