A revenue stamp or tax stamp or fiscal stamp is an adhesive label used to collect taxes or fees on documents, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, drugs and medicines, playing cards, hunting licenses, firearm registration, and many other things.
Typically, businesses purchase the stamps from the government and attach them to taxed items as part of putting the items on sale, or in the case of documents, as part of filling out the form.
The Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) started implementing tax stamps on cigarettes manufactured, distributed and imported into Malawi on 1st May 2011, following the passing of the Customs and Excise amendment bill of 2008 under Section 77.
The
cigarette tax stamps have special security features and they are affixed on a
prescribed position on the cigarette packet to distinguish complaint cigarettes
from smuggled and counterfeit products.
Every
cigarette stamp issued constitutes revenue payable to the Malawi Government and
manufacturers are therefore required to compile a monthly reconciliation
statement by the 20th of the month succeeding the month in which it was due.
All
local manufacturers, importers and distributors of cigarettes in Malawi are
required to apply for registration by filling Form CE28C and shall be issued
with a license. When submitting the application form to MRA, it should be
accompanied with the applicant’s Taxpayer Identification Number (TPIN),
Certificate of Incorporation and Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC).
The
cigarette manufacturer, importer or distributor’s license shall be valid for
one year subject to renewal but new applications can be forwarded to MRA at any
time. Foreign manufacturers shall ensure that all cigarette packets have the
tax stamps prior to exportation to Malawi. The same applies to local
manufacturers and distributors.
Cigarette tax stamps promote lawful trade by minimizing smuggling, protecting local industries that manufacture cigarettes from unfair competition, protecting people from consuming unbranded and counterfeit cigarettes that pose health risks and enhancing tax compliance.