Niël Terblanché
The Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) has intensified efforts to combat deliberate tax evasion within the fishing industry.
Yarukeekuro Ndorokaze, NamRA’s spokesperson, said in a statement issued on Thursday that targeted actions have been initiated to halt revenue leakage in this sector and ensure offenders are held accountable.
Ndorokaze added that over the years, the fishing industry has been among the lowest contributors to the national fiscus.
“Fees paid to directors and other members often go undeclared and untaxed. Ongoing investigations are focusing on the sale of fishing quotas by rights holders,” he said.
According to Ndorokaze, the analysis focuses on beneficial ownership and transactions with related entities regarding vessel ownership and product export.
“Between 1 May and 19 July 2024, NamRA issued an administrative summons in accordance with the applicable laws and raised tax assessments to determine the tax liability,” he said.
Following these actions, the identified taxpayers appointed third parties, including commercial banks, to pay over funds in respect of their tax debt.
“These actions resulted in the recovery of N$20 million from 14 fishing companies,” he said.
According to Ndorokaze, NamRA is collaborating with other law enforcement agencies, particularly the Namibian Police, the Office of the Prosecutor General, and the Financial Intelligence Centre, to carry out parallel financial investigations.
He said that the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, 2004 (Act No. 29 of 2004) provides for the initiation of relevant criminal processes, including preservation and asset forfeiture proceedings, once the financial investigations are complete.
Ndorokaze said that NamRA is committed to strengthening its enforcement capability to enhance compliance with applicable tax laws.
“The agency’s targeted efforts to ensure compliance will be carried out across various sectors of the economy,” he said.
He added that NamRA appeals to all taxpayers to ensure voluntary compliance with tax laws to avoid legal repercussions.
Earlier this month, the Namibia Competition Commission (NaCC) lodged a second investigation against various owners and operators of vessels.
The NaCC suspects that there are companies that are imposing unfair purchase prices when negotiating quota usage fees with the fishing rights holders without vessels in the Horse Mackerel sub-sector.
The accused companies face potential anti-competitive conduct by imposing an unfair purchase price on the fishing rights holders.
