NIPA TO HOST ZRA TRAININGS

BUUMBA CHIMBULU writes@SunZambianOVER 700 customs and clearing agents will be trained by the National Institute of Public Administration Zambia (NIPA) on behalf of the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) in an effort to upscale domestic resource collection while creating sanity in the industry.This follows an agreement signed between ZRA and NIPA to train and examine customs and clearing agents for accreditation purposes.The first batch of training programme, supported by the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF), is targeting over 700 agents out of 818 clearing companies, says ZRA Commissioner General, Kingsley Chanda.Mr Chanda said during the signing of the agreement this week that these clearing companies had a workforce of about 3,100 officially registered.“Customs clearing agents play a vital role in the facilitation of cross-border trade by providing services which minimise delays at the bor-ders.“These clearing agents are very cardinal to the process of revenue collection and smooth flow of international trade,” he said.Mr Chanda explained that the joint training programme was designed to offer professional knowledge to clearing agents on customs ad-ministration issues in the modern trading environment.The programme, he said, was aimed at building capacity among agents with a view to raise their service level standards.He said ZRA would work closely with the clearing and forwarding industry by enhancing capacity to enable delivery of quality service to the importers and exporters.Mr Chanda also said ZRA re-engaged the Copperbelt University to co-develop a customs system that will be integrated into the current TaxOnline system.“You might be aware that in 2019, the Zambia Revenue Authority signed a memorandum of understanding with the Copperbelt Universi-ty to develop a local online tax system called taxonline II, which was successfully rolled out to the taxpayers on 5th January, 2020,” he said.NIPA Executive Director, Royson Mukwena, said well-trained customs and clearing agents were cardinal to the success of the industry.Professor Mukwena said the training would therefore go a long way in ensuring that Zambia had a pool of professional customs and clearing agents.“With a well-trained cadre of customs and clearing agents, the country stands to benefit in its efforts to upscale domestic resource mobili-sation.“NIPA is equal to the task and ready to do the work in a professional and diligent manner to the satisfaction of all parties involved,” he said. The Sun