Smuggling results in loss of tax revenue

The Namibia Revenue Agency (Namra) has revealed that the smuggling of goods at ungazetted points of entry along the Namibia-Zambia border in the Zambezi region resulted in a loss of N$788 927 in duties and taxes.

The Namibia-Zambia border is the daily playground of both locals and foreigners who continue to smuggle various goods in and out of both countries using canoes and other modes of transport.

Namra chief strategic communications and support officer Steven Ndorokaze, responding to questions by The Namibian yesterday, noted that this is only the value of the goods intercepted, as not all smugglers are caught red-handed.

He said between January and September, they issued fines of about N$148 398.00 to smugglers caught attempting to smuggle goods in and out of the country at ungazetted points of entry.

“Determining the precise revenue loss along the Namibia-Zambia border due to smuggling is challenging, as some smuggled goods successfully evaded interception.

The smuggling of goods through ungazetted points of entry in the Zambezi region presents a significant challenge as it endangers both Namra’s revenue collection efforts and the well-being of local communities due to the fact that some of these goods can be harmful.

“Smugglers often exploit remote locations inaccessible to law enforcement agencies, as well as operate after hours, and this exacerbates the problem,” he said.

As part of efforts to curb smuggling activities, Namra is tirelessly working with other law enforcement agencies to increase their visibility through clean-up operations and intensified patrols, he said.

“However, there is still a need to enhance public awareness campaigns to foster a sense of collective responsibility and encourage reporting such illegal activities.

Namra has further operationalised rewards of up to one-third of the penalty to any individual who provides specific information leading to the interception of illicit consignments,” he said.

Ndorokaze said goods typically being smuggled are agricultural products such as tomatoes and groundnuts, which require a phytosanitary certificate to confirm that they are suitable for consumption.

Additionally, goods that are legally acquired are also being smuggled through ungazetted points of entry just to evade border charges.

“However, not all seized products are legal. Some are pesticides, illicit cigarettes lacking necessary warnings, skin lightning creams and pharmaceutical products,” he said.

Small traders and taxi drivers are among those implicated in the smuggling activities, he noted.

Zambezi regional police commander commissioner Andreas Shilelo, who also spoke to The Namibian about the smuggling activities continuing unabated in the region yesterday, suggested that thorough research needs to be done to understand why people prefer to smuggle goods, especially from Namibia to Zambia.

He said even well-off business people are part of those smuggling goods at ungazetted points on a daily basis.

“They prefer to buy the goods and pay for transportation to these illegal points of entry, and then pay for those operating canoes to take their goods across.

Therefore, research is needed for us to understand whether they think it is a difficult process to declare their goods.

As it has now come to be, almost every day through our patrolling efforts, we arrest smugglers and confiscate goods,” he said.

Among the smuggled items are stolen household goods which are sold in Zambia, Shilelo said.