The Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) says it has managed to recover N$71 million from unlawfully paid refunds.
The agency revealed this information to the National Council Standing Committee on Public Accounts and Economy during an oversight visit to the Omaheke, //Kharas, Erongo and Ohangwena regions where it also outlined its strategies to enhance tax compliance.
According to NamRA, several employees involved in the illegal refund process have resigned, while others have committed to ceasing the practice.
The agency is currently pursuing arrangements for those who benefitted unlawfully from the refunds to make repayments.
“The agency informed the Committee that a total of N$71 million was recovered from refunds that were paid unlawfully, while advising that those who were refunded unlawfully should make repayments arrangement,” a report by the committee read.
Earlier this year, NamRA announced that the amount of money stolen through an income tax refund fraud scheme had increased to N$136 million, from the initial reported loss of N$36 million in July 2021 when the scam was first uncovered.
It was revealed that the number of taxpayers involved in the fraud had also grown to 921, a substantial increase from the 409 reported in July 2022.
On the other hand, NamRA informed the committee that in its efforts to bolster tax revenue, it has identified the fishing and extractive industries as key areas of focus.
The agency is working to strengthen its presence in these sectors to prevent underreporting of production and earnings, which ultimately leads to tax evasion.
“The agency further indicated that it is struggling to penetrate in the fishing and extractive industries to ensure those sectors do not under report their production and earnings, which lead them not to pay correct tax,” the report read.
To further streamline tax collection and improve compliance, NamRA announced plans to introduce an e-invoicing system.
This system will integrate cash registers at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with NamRA’s ITAS system.
“Such interconnectivity will lead to more efficient tax collection, as NamRA will be able to monitor the monthly earnings of SMEs and businesses, particularly those that do not use swiping machines as a method of payments,” the report reads.
