Activist Bon Kalindo claims he is in the process of mobilizing Malawians to hold nationwide demonstrations on August 8, calling for the government to address several economic and political governance issues, including the suspension of the newly introduced excise tax stamps.
At a press conference in Lilongwe, Kalindo, through his pressure group “Malawi First, the People First,” outlined additional demands, such as reforming the identity card processes at the National Registration Bureau to enable more Malawians to acquire them. He claimed that the government has not responded to their concerns, prompting the declaration to hold demonstrations against voter registration and national identification registration processes.
However, it appears that Kalindo does not understand the benefits of tax stamps, an initiative introduced by the Ministries of Finance and Trade to protect local and legitimate industries from unfair competition from businesses engaged in illicit, smuggled, and counterfeit excisable products. The tax stamps are also intended to control the consumption of unbranded and counterfeit products, promote voluntary tax compliance among manufacturers, importers, and distributors, and optimize tax collection for the improved delivery of social services.
The targeted products include bottled water, carbonated soft drinks, energy drinks, malt beer, wines, spirits, fermented beverages, lotion, glycerine, and cigarettes. The tax stamps, already rolled out on cigarettes to counter rampant smuggling from neighboring countries, are in the form of secure paper stamps affixed to products as stickers or labels, or secure digital stamps printed directly on product packaging using special ink.
The Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) unveiled this initiative during its annual engagement meeting with the media. Deputy Commissioner of Domestic Tax, Kondwani Sauti Phiri, highlighted that the initiative followed concerns from legitimate manufacturers and importers over illicit, smuggled, and counterfeit products that are supposed to be excisable.
While there was initial resistance from manufacturers and importers over the high cost of stamps, machinery modification, and potential influx of fake tax stamps, the tax measure—dubbed Kalondola—has been positively embraced. The Kalondola system allows MRA to track how many products have been manufactured, ensuring better tax compliance and protecting consumers’ health from illicit products.
MRA Commissioner General, John Biziwick, emphasized that MRA is tasked by the government to heighten tax compliance and that the media plays a crucial role in disseminating tax information. He highlighted that MRA closed the fiscal year 2023/24 with a record revenue collection of K2.19 trillion and has set an ambitious target of K3.26 trillion for the 2024/25 financial year.
Thus, Kalindo’s opposition to the excise tax stamp system appears to be based on a misunderstanding of its benefits, which include protecting legitimate businesses and consumers, increasing tax compliance, and supporting national development through improved revenue collection.
