‘Zanzibaris are duty-bound to demand receipts’

ALL Zanzibaris are duty-bound to demand receipt for any purchase and report adamant traders who refuse to issue the document to Zanzibar Revenue Authority (ZRA) for appropriate action, the House of Representatives was told yesterday.

Deputy Minister of State, President’s Office, Finance and Planning Ali Suleiman Ameir told the House that the government tax collection agency is determined to ensure receipts are issued for all sold items and services but needs the support of wananchi to attain the goal.

He said ZRA through close supervision of the president’s office, finance and planning, has always been hyping receipt issuance by traders, citing “Dai risiti, Somba Zawadi” campaign as one of the agency’s strategies to encourage wananchi to demand receipts.

The deputy minister was answering a question by Special Seats Representative Mwanajuma Kassim Makame who wanted to know the government strategy to control revenue leakages through petrol stations, which don’t issue electronic receipts.

She commended the government move to introduce the electronic receipt system but claimed that some traders were reluctant to use it.

Deputy Minister Ameir said taxes on petroleum products are paid upon entry in the country to guarantee the government of its due revenues. He defended the system as an effective strategy to curb tax evasion in fuel business whose contribution to the country’s economy is critical.

He said some petrol stations have their pumps directly integrated to ZRA’s Virtual Fiscal Management System (VFMS) and automatically issue receipts after refuelling. Some pumps are not integrated due to their incompatible technologies with VFMS but operators use point of sale (POS) gadgets to issue the receipts.