The Namibian Revenue Agency (NamRA) says it is faced with difficulties in monitoring the fishing industry, resulting in a loss of revenue.
This came to light during the National Council Standing Committee on Public Accounts and Economy's recent visit to the agency's regional offices in the Omaheke, ||Kharas, Erongo, and Ohangwena regions.
The visit was aimed at assessing NamRA's operational effectiveness, challenges, and contribution to the economy.
NamRA explained the challenges faced, including difficulties in monitoring the fishing industry to prevent production under-reporting and efforts to recover millions of dollars lost down to unlawful tax refunds facilitated by agency employees.
The committee praised the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the Kalahari Border Post but identified areas for improvement in the project's second phase.
"Such shortcomings include inadequate residential accommodation for staff deployed at the Trans-Kalahari border post and inadequate parking space for trucks waiting to be processed by the border post officials. lack of school for children of border post officials and insufficient services at local facilities," said NUDO MP Peter Kazongominja.
The committee urged NamRA to prioritise staff housing to boost their morale and performance.
It further recommends decentralising decision-making and services to regional offices to reduce bureaucracy and enhance efficiency.
They also suggested the construction of a facility to store confiscated goods.
The visit revealed ongoing issues with undeclared imports and smuggling activities, including cases of fuel smuggling well known as "Ngungula" at the Oshikango border and breaches in the mountain and border fence areas.
Committee member John Likando criticised Namibia's tax policies, highlighting issues with Chinese-owned businesses operating in the country.
He noted that most of these businesses do not issue receipts or use proper payment systems and called for a thorough review by the National Council.
Likando argued that while street vendors face strict taxation, foreign businesses exploit tax loopholes.
"I was in Chinatown, and they couldn't even provide me with the receipt to add that they do not have swiping machines. If you go to our commercial banks, you'll hardly find them there depositing their money. But for poor women selling goods on the streets, we put laws to tax them, and are we being fair? So I propose the report to be put forward for thorough study and research, especially to the National Council, so that more recommendations can be added."
MP Paulus Mbangu supported Likando's concerns, adding that "our tax laws are very clear that an income of $100,000 is exempt. We expected NamRA to refund all the employees, including us. NamRA is struggling to penetrate the fishing industry because it cannot ascertain whether what they are reporting is proper or not. The Chinese businesses, to be honest, don't issue receipts; they also don't use proper tills."