NamRA Urges Taxpayers to Clear Their Debt Before End of October

The Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) is urging taxpayers to settle their outstanding tax debts before 31 October to benefit from the tax amnesty, as delays in finalising audits and assessments could leave some taxpayers outside the relief programme.

NamRA’s Domestic Taxes function Manager, Sakeus Kapweya said taxpayers who had submitted their returns before the deadline could still miss out if audits or assessments established new tax liabilities after end of October.

“If the debt arises after the 31st, it is new debt and is not subject to the amnesty,” Kapweya said during NamRA’s online Debt Management and Tax Amnesty awareness session on Tuesday.

He urged taxpayers with unresolved cases to contact their registration officers and request that their cases be finalised before the deadline.

“I advise you to go to your registration officer and have the case finalised so you can take part,” Kapweya said.

Moreover, NamRA’s manager of Taxpayer Services and Debt Management,Vanessa Nengola acknowledged the concerns, saying the agency would engage regional managers about outstanding audits.

“We will have an engagement session with the respective regional managers and we will bring them to their attention,” Nengola said.

She added that a team is working to resolve pending cases and system-related problems, while audits in the Large Taxpayers Unit are making progress.

The amnesty ends next week Saturday, with qualifying taxpayers required to pay their full outstanding capital balance by the deadline to receive a 100% waiver of penalties and interest.

''Taxpayers must also file all outstanding returns electronically and register as e-portal filers'' Nengola clarified that participating in the amnesty does not prevent taxpayers from objecting to or appealing against their tax assessments.

She also said taxpayers who had met the amnesty requirements but were prevented from completing the process by errors on the Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS) would still receive the full benefit, even if the technical issues were resolved after 31 October, provided they had no outstanding capital balance.

Nengola further urged taxpayers to use the correct payment references to ensure their payments are allocated to the appropriate tax accounts.

“If it’s done correctly, there’s an automatic reconciliation that takes place between the payment made and the liability that’s been raised,” she said.

However, lump-sum payments may require manual allocation by a debt official, potentially delaying the process.

Kapweya further warned taxpayers that failure to settle their debts could trigger NamRA’s debt recovery process, which begins with a demand letter giving them 14 days to pay, followed by a final demand allowing a further seven days before the agency may pursue third-party recovery or seek a court writ to attach and sell their assets.

He also highlighted that taxpayers experiencing financial difficulties may apply for payment arrangements of up to 12 months, subject to approval.

However, Kapweya cautioned that these arrangements do not exempt taxpayers from paying the full capital balance by the amnesty deadline if they wish to qualify for the waiver.