New system to boost revenue from mobile telephone firms

Dodoma. The government has plans to install a new system dubbed Telecommunications Revenues Assurance System (TRAS) which will enable it to efficiently collect revenue from telecommunications sector.

Tanzania Revenues Authority (TRA) larger tax payers’ service manager Godwin Barongo told Parliamentary Committee on Infrastructure that the authority is working with Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) and Bank of Tanzania (BoT) in implementing the project.

Mr Barongo said TRA has already floated the tender. Mr Barongo said the implementation of the project which will take nine month, will start early next month.

He added that TRAS will help to monitor revenues generated by telecommunications companies which include earnings from sales of airtime for local calls.

Currently TRA relies on the Telecommunication Traffic Monitoring System (TTMS), which doesn’t monitor airtime on local calls.

“The project will start by installation of machine in several areas throughout the country and the process is expected to take nine months. Upon its completion, the system will help us to collect revenues from all local telecommunication services in a more professional manner,” he observed.

He, however, detailed that the system (TTMS) increased revenues collection from telecommunication sector, especially on excess duty of money transfer by some local phone companies.

“For example, many phone companies used to pay not more than Sh3 million per month in terms of excess duty money transfer, but with the system (TTMS), in the month of June, this year we collected at least 1.9billion and sh1.46billion from Vodacom Tanzania and Tigo respective,” he mentioned.

During the meeting, many members of the committee wanted to know why most local giant phone companies were not among the list of Top 10 taxpayers while they collected billions of shillings per months.

“The phone companies are generating huge profits but their revenues records doesn’t reflect to what the earn.

You need to work very dilligently in order to plug all persisting loopholes,” said Charles Kitwanga (Misungwi MP).

For his part, Gairos MP Ahmed Shabiby raised concern over the theft of money through mobile phones, saying there has been an increase in the spate money theft through phone, wanting TCRA to be more vigilant.

In another development, Parliamentary Public Account Committee (PAC) declined to discuss TIB Development report over discrepancies between the reports presented by the bank’s officials and that of Controller Auditor General (CAG).

The committee’s deputy chairAeshi Hillaly told TIB Board of directors chair Palamagamba Kabu his team spotted discrepancies between the two crucial documents.