The Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra), on the following developments; customs clearance of postal and courier items, type approval of customs controlled electronic communications equipment and tax compliance by communications operators.

On the other hand, the communications Authority has noted that some of the current telecommunication devices that enter Malawi, are outdated. “We noted with concern that a lot of telecommunication equipment being used in the country particularly mobile phones, laptops and tablets are not up to the local and international standard.” says the authority on its Facebook page, “With this MoU we shall monitor every telecommunications equipment entering the country to ensure they are of high quality and up to standard.”

Earlier this year, MRA imposed a 5% levy on storage devices entering the country, a move that the Association for ICT in Malawi (ICTAM) opposed the development, stating that the levy introduction will inhibit the ICT sector from growing. The press release reads “..the introduction of the private copying levy is not only taking this country steps back in terms of development and promotion of ICT usage; it is also hindering efforts of making ICT to be universally accessible.”