Good governance advocate George Chaima lauds arrests in K888 million tax cases

Arrested: Former MCP MP Ulemu Chilapondwa

* Which include arrest former MCP legislator Ulemu Chilapondwa, accused of collecting and failing to remit VAT amounting to K884.6 million

* And customs clearing agent Samuel Kachigamba over alleged use of fraudulent tax clearance certificate intending to evade MK3.3 million of Advance Income Tax

By Tarcizio Mondwe, Malawi News Agency (MANA)

Good governance advocate, George Chaima, has commended the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) for arresting two individuals in separate tax-related cases involving nearly K888 million — describing the development as a significant step towards strengthening tax compliance and accountability.

The suspects include former Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Member of Parliament, Ulemu Chilapondwa, who is accused of collecting and failing to remit value added tax (VAT) amounting to K884.6 million.

A customs clearing agent, Samuel Kachigamba was arrested over alleged use of fraudulent tax-clearance certificate intending to evade MK3.3 million.

Kachigamba, is an  imports & exports controller for KAS Freight Limited situated along Salmin Amour Road at Ginnery Corner in Blantyre while Chilapondwa is former legislator for Ntchisi South.

A statement from the MRA indicate that 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘄𝗮, a taxpayer registered for income tax purposes, trading as 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗝.𝗨.𝗖 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, of P.O. Box 20, Mponela, Dowa, is alleged to have unlawfully collected and non-remitted the VAT amounting to 𝗠𝗞𝟴𝟴𝟰,𝟲𝟱𝟯,𝟱𝟲𝟲.𝟳𝟮.

“The allegations relate to invoice number 105, dated 11th November 2024, issued to the Ministry of Energy for supplies under the Malawi Rural Electrification Programme (MAREP).

“Mr. Chilapondwa is alleged to have charged and collected VAT despite not being registered for VAT purposes and subsequently failed to remit the amount to MRA.”

The alleged conduct constitutes an offence under Section 109(3)(a) of the Tax Administration Act, 2021 (Act No. 13 of 2021) and MRA maintained that it remains  committed to enforcing the civil and criminal provisions of Malawi’s tax laws, safeguarding public revenue and upholding the public’s right to information, while respecting the presumption of innocence and due process of law.

On Kachigamba, the allegations concern customs declaration number C13525, dated July 14, 2025, lodged at Mwanza Border Station for the clearance of pinion and girth gears imported by Lime Co.

He is reported to have “allegedly procured and knowingly forwarded a fraudulent TCC, Reference Number MRA/BSTO/TCC/006242, dated 16th April 2025, to another customs clearing agent for uploading into ASYCUDA World to unlawfully obtain an Advance Income Tax exemption’.

The alleged conduct may constitute offences under the Tax Administration Act, 2021 (Act No. 13 of 2021), particularly impeding tax administration under section 107(1) — read with section 107(3)(g), involving knowingly dealing with materially false or misleading documents.

And also making a false or misleading statement under section 105(1)(a), read with section 105(3), including through documents submitted to tax officers in the course of import clearance.

Governance advocate, Chaima thus says the VAT case is particularly serious as it involves public funds, questioning how a non-registered supplier was paid K884 million in VAT. He stressed that the suspects remain innocent until proven guilty by a competent court.

He called on government to strengthen verification mechanisms, including real-time confirmation of suppliers’ VAT registration status, QR-coded Tax Clearance Certificates and mandatory electronic invoicing for all government suppliers.

He also urged MRA to pursue recovery of the alleged lost revenue alongside criminal prosecutions.—Editing and additional reporting by Duncan Mlanjira; Maravi Express