Businesses in Lilongwe learn more about BMS

The Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) on 26^th January 2022 implemented the Block Management System (BMS) in the Capital City of Lilongwe, following its successful piloting and implementation in Blantyre.

Before the implementation in Lilongwe, the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) conducted a lot of awareness on the system through the media and interface meetings. The latest workshops were conducted between the 18^th to 20^th January 2022.

Participants who attended the workshops were lodge and inn operators, liquor shop operators, salon and boutique owners, gas station operators, Asian business community, private school owners, pharmacists, clinicians, eateries and SMEs including cross border traders, among others.  

BMS is a taxpayer outreach scheme that physically identifies and maps taxpayers and breaks them down into manageable blocks to allow MRA to visit them in person to educate and encourage tax compliance.

In his presentations at the workshops, Dr. Donasius Pathera, a member of the BMS project team, hinted that the system was intended to bring taxpayer service such as filing of tax returns, payment of taxes and taxpayer education at the people’s door step and encouraged the participants to embrace the system.

He added that BMS was aimed at widening the tax net and levelling the playing field so that every business person pays their fair share of the taxes due to Government.

 “Research suggests that out of 1.6 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Malawi, only 27, 000 are registered for tax and this is a very worrisome situation. It is, therefore, my belief that with BMS, many businesses will be enlisted in the tax net leading to more revenue collection,” added Dr. Pathera.

He informed the audience that Lilongwe City had been divided into four blocks namely (1) Bwalo la Njobvu (2) Malangalanga (3) Area 3, Area 9, Crossroads and Kanengo and (4) City Centre.