The Malawi Revenue Authority will roll out a mandatory Electronic Invoicing System for all VAT-registered businesses beginning May 1, 2026, while intensifying enforcement of rental income tax nationwide.
The authority says the new digital platform will improve real-time VAT accountability and ease compliance, despite concerns from some traders who fear it will increase their burden.
Speaking on Saturday during a media training for journalists in Lilongwe, MRA Spokesperson Wilma Chalulu said the Electronic Invoicing System (EIS) will replace electronic fiscal devices which was introduced in 2014 and will operate through a web-based platform that interfaces directly with the authority in real time.
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“It is not a new tax. It is just a new system that is replacing the electronic fiscal devices. It is going to interface the traders’ system with MRA in real time, the invoices as the sales are being made, which is now going to make it easier for accountability at the end of the day,” said Chalulu.
Chalulu acknowledged misinformation surrounding the system has caused anxiety among traders, some of whom have demonstrated against its introduction.
The rollout was initially scheduled for February 1 2026 but was postponed to May 1 2026 following concerns that the system would be punitive.
“The world is moving on. Technology has moved on and we would like to make taxpayers’ compliance easier. The Electronic Invoicing System is merely a system that is technologically more advanced. The cost of the gadgets is even much lower than the EFDs,” explained Chalulu.
Unlike the outgoing electronic fiscal devices, which recorded sales for later submission, the new system will transmit transaction data instantly to the authority.
“With time, there were also some under-declarations that were happening in terms of the accounting for the VAT. Technology has now made it possible for more efficiencies in terms of tracking for the VAT,” added Chalulu.
In a petition presented to MRA at Msonkho House in Blantyre two weeks ago, members of the Limbe Local Shop Owners Association argued that the requirement to declare stock values for EIS tracking would further strain businesses already struggling with rising fuel prices and currency devaluation.
“We are already passing through tough times following recent fuel price rise and devaluations, therefore, bringing this system will finish us and our businesses,” reads part of the petition.
Association Secretary General Chisomo Rodger questioned why some small-scale traders who do not use electronic fiscal devices should be brought under the new platform.
Similar petitions and demonstrations were also reported in Lilongwe and Mzuzu, where traders raised comparable concerns about compliance costs and the scope of the new system.
In addition to the invoicing reforms, Chalulu said the authority will begin a nationwide mapping exercise this month to identify landlords earning rental income, starting with low-density areas in Lilongwe such as Area 10, Area 43 and Area 47, and in Blantyre including Nyambadwe, Sunnyside, Naperi and Mount Pleasant.
“The rental income is not a new tax. What is happening now is that on the enforcement side, maybe for some reason, the enforcement was not as it should have been,” she said.
MRA officers will move house by house across districts to determine which properties are being rented and which landlords qualify for taxation.
The 20% rental income tax applies to residential properties earning MWK170,000 per month and above.
Chalulu said landlords are not expected to increase rent as a result of enforcement and must not transfer the tax burden to tenants.
To support the exercise, the authority is collaborating with the Ministry of Lands, city councils and utility companies to verify property and ownership records.
“We are collaborating with other departments to ensure that we have the correct information,” Chalulu said.
The authority said it will announce the phases and timelines of the mapping exercise as implementation progresses.