Namra closes in on N$71b revenue collection target

The Namibia Revenue Agency (Namra) says it collected N$51 billion in taxes as of November, putting it within reach of its N$71-billion target for the 2023/24 financial year.

According to Namra commissioner Sam Shivute, the collected taxes are N$13 billion more, when compared to the N$38 billion collected in November 2022.

“Our strategic objective is to improve revenue collection. And I’m very happy to inform the public that we are well on course to achieve our revenue target. Initially, the revenue target was N$67 billion that we have to collect by the end of March . . .

“And with the minister making a midterm budget review, it was adjusted to N$71 billion. I’m very happy to report on our fast-tracked collection when compared to the previous financial year,” he says.

Shivute attributes the achievement to hard-working colleagues.

“Therefore, given what we know and the data we have, we have no doubt we are going to exceed the target that has been given to us by the minister of finance [and public enterprises],” he says.

Shivute commends the team for being vigilant as the web for the tax refund fraud cases that have stretched from N$15 million to N$833 million is being dealt with.

Namra has registered 56 criminal cases so far, while more than 1 160 taxpayers from 40 institutions are implicated in the scam.

“From March 2023 we have been able to recover about N$43 million of what was unlawfully claimed, and we are working towards recouping more,” says Shivute.

“Then the other significant achievement is the court cases where we were being litigated against for having deducted N$33 million from a company that has been avoiding paying tax.

“Another scenario is of a group of aggrieved individuals who sought relief and an interdict to stop deducting funds from their accounts after being involved in tax refund fraud. These are signs that we are working hard, and are serious with enforcing tax compliance and revenue collection.”

Namra has been using Section 91 of the Income Tax Act, which gives it the mandate to appoint third parties that include banks and employers to collect money owed on its behalf.

“So the achievements are a lot. You also know that from 1 April we are now operating 24 hours at the Trans-Kalahari Mamuno and Wenela border posts, something which improved service delivery as opposed to when we operated from 05h00 to 22h00.

“In addition to this, we have developed a leadership model and Namra has become one of the few institutions, if not the first and only institution in this country, to have developed leadership models that guide attitude, conduct and performance,” he says.

See the full interview in the ‘Year in Review 2023’ in Outlook 2024 Magazine. – The Brief