The Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) plans to pay whistle-blowers one-third of penalties or revenue from auction sales for reporting cases of duty and tax evasion as part of new measures to curb revenue losses.
The incentive scheme, which will apply to both NamRA employees and individuals, aims to mitigate revenue loss resulting from evasion practices such as undervaluation, misclassification, concealment, and misrepresentation.
“This Reward System is provided for in terms of section 102 of the Customs and Excise Act, 1998 (Act 20 of 1998) (Customs and Excise Act) and will reward eligible individuals with up to one-third of the penalty paid or auction sale for providing specific information leading to the interception of the consignment,” Yarukeekuro Ndorokaze, NamRA’s Chief Strategic Communications and Support Engagements, said on Thursday.
Ndorokaze emphasized the importance of providing truthful, verifiable, and indispensable information as part of the reporting process, adding, “the decision to grant rewards shall be based on a careful assessment of each case by a competent Committee, considering all relevant facts and circumstances and cannot be claimed by anyone as a matter of right.”
Furthermore, monetary compensation will only be disbursed after NamRA has diligently pursued the matter and collected the necessary penalties and proceeds from auction sales.
The reward system policy exclusively applies to cases under the Customs and Excise Act, 1998, and does not encompass other Acts administered by NamRA.
NamRA, which replaced the Customs and Excise and Inland Revenue Departments in the Ministry of Finance, was created as a semi-autonomous body responsible for revenue collection, the administration of tax, customs, and excise laws, as well as the efficient provision of services to taxpayers.
According to shared figures, NamRA collected approximately N$2.8 billion from its customs and excise operations for the 2022/23 financial year from April to December 2022.
In the previous financial year, 2021/22, the agency collected nearly N$3.7 billion from customs and excise operations and an additional N$14.7 billion from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU).
