By VITA BANDA
THE Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has announced that from January 1, 2024, the tax clearance certificate (TCC) will not be issued to non-compliant taxpayers.
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ZRA Corporate Communications Manager, Oliver Nzala, said the certificate will only be issued to taxpayers who file all tax returns and pay all taxes due.
He said they will however, give tax clearance certificates to taxpayers with outstanding tax arears or tax debt on condition that at the time of applying for a certificate, they must have already signed a time to pay agreement with the ZRA.
Mr Nzala has advised the public to start scanning the quick response code to verify the validity of certificates.
He said it is a legal requirement for any person to deal with a supplier of goods and services who has a valid certificate.
Mr Nzala has also advised the public not to engage in any business transaction with suppliers using forged certificates.
“Taxpayers are therefore urged to be tax compliant all the time to avoid being inconvenienced. In 2024 ZRA will ensure that an application for a TCC will only proceed once the system verifies that a taxpayer is tax compliant and has filed all the tax returns.
The system will also display the tax compliance status of the taxpayer highlighting the missing returns that the taxpayer must file before the application can be processed successfully. The tax clearance certificate is a critical document as it is a compulsory requirement for most tenders but also provides an indication of taxpayer’s tax compliance status.
“Compliance is deemed as filing of tax returns on or before the due date for all applicable tax obligations, payment of tax on or before the due date, clearance of all outstanding tax debt and providing accurate information in the tax declarations/returns,” he said.
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