Businesses urged to maintain compliancy

REGULATORY authorities have said building compliant businesses and tapping into the public procurement opportunities, prepares young executives to drive the economy to greater and newer heights for the good of the nation.

Businesses have been urged to be compliant with the regulatory requirements so as to create a positive corporate reputation and make it favourable for clients to interact with their brand.

In a speech read on behalf of the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) acting commissioner general, Ms Regina Chinamasa by the authority’s head of technical support, Ms Idah Tawonezvi said their ultimate desire was to see all taxpayers playing their part in building the economy by voluntarily paying their taxes on time, in full and in the currency of trade.

Addressing delegates at the recent Young CEOs Business Forum (YCBF) 2022, Ms Chinamasa said: “Voluntary compliance is the mainstay of sustainable revenue mobilisation. As ZIMRA we have put in place initiatives to encourage voluntary compliance. Taxpayers should note that the current law in the Revenue Authority Act provides for issuance of tax rulings and opinions by ZIMRA.”

She said ZIMRA was working on a number of initiatives to encourage voluntary compliance and they were in the process of putting in place a compliance improvement plan.

“One of the major concepts we are working on adopting is the Cooperative Compliance program concept popularised by OECD and is being piloted in some African countries like Ghana. The emphasis is on creating and nurturing a relationship based on trust and cooperation between the Revenue Authority and our clients.

“It is designed to minimize conflict between tax authorities and businesses by establishing a relationship based on transparency, justified trust and behavio`1ural change in terms of the nature of tax avoidance/planning undertaken,” she added.

Ms Chinamasa called upon the young CEOs to shun corruption, as it was one of the biggest non-tariff barriers that made products less competitive on the international market and erodes investor confidence.

Procurement Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) chief executive officer (CEO), Mr Clever Ruswa said as a way of ensuring businesses are able to tap into public procurement opportunities, they were working on a well-targeted entrepreneurial training focusing on Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

He said youths must take up a leading role in advocating for a National Youth Economic Empowerment Policy that feeds into the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDPA) Act.

Mr Ruswa said introduction of e-GP, a system that provides an online platform to carry out procurement activities, will address the information gap as information will be readily available on the e-GP portal.

National Social Security Authority (NSSA) general manager, Mr Arthur Manase in a speech read on his behalf by the authority’s regional manager Mr Walter Chagadama said it was key for businesses to identify and take the necessary steps to comply with policies, relevant laws, and regulations that are applicable to specific businesses.

He said NSSA was deliberately working on simplifying compliance processes under the ease of doing business concept.

“Businesses can register with NSSA through the online self-service portal, file returns, and obtain clearance certificates amongst many other services. Obtaining relevant licenses is fundamental in setting up a business for public projects,” said Mr Manase.

The YCBF 2022 which ran from 9 to 10 March was hosted by CEO Africa Roundtable under the theme, “Breakthrough to excellence: The First Million is the Hardest.”