MALAWI REVENUE AUTHORITY

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

        SCHEDULE

14 of 1998
26 of 2004
20 of 2022
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

PART I
PRELIMINARY

1.    Short title

    This Act may be cited as the Malawi Revenue Authority Act.

2.    Interpretation

    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.

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.

4.    Functions of the Authority

    (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.

5.    Powers of the Authority

    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…