PIGGS PEAK – The Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS) has intensified its call for stronger tax compliance in the country.
The ERS has warned that billions of Emalangeni continue to move across borders without being properly declared for tax purposes.
This was one of the key issues raised during the Media Tax and Customs Journalism Academy, a two-day engagement between the revenue authority and editors held from Friday to Saturday at Piggs Peak Hotel.
The academy formed part of the ERS’s broader effort to strengthen public understanding of the country’s tax and customs systems, while encouraging voluntary compliance among businesses and individual taxpayers.
During the discussions, ERS revealed that approximately E4.8 billion had moved out of the country, with only a small portion of that amount declared for tax purposes. The revelation highlighted significant compliance gaps that the revenue authority says it is working to close through policy reforms, enhanced monitoring and digital transformation.
The engagement also provided editors and journalists with deeper insight into the operations of the ERS, including tax administration, customs enforcement, procurement regulations and integrity mechanisms designed to strengthen trust in the country’s revenue system.
Opening the academy, ERS Commissioner General Brightwell Nkambule said the media plays a crucial role in shaping public understanding of tax policies and compliance requirements.
He explained that while the ERS is responsible for collecting revenue for government, the institution also has a duty to educate taxpayers and ensure that the tax system operates fairly and transparently.
Nkambule said engaging journalists directly would help improve the quality and accuracy of reporting on tax matters, while also assisting the public to better understand their obligations.
He emphasised that voluntary compliance remains a cornerstone of the country’s tax system, noting that government services and development programmes depend heavily on revenue collected from businesses and individuals. A key session during the academy focused on the fundamentals of tax compliance, presented by ERS Taxpayer Education Manager, Cebolenkhosi Mahlalela.
The presentation provided an overview of the obligations that businesses and individuals must meet in order to remain compliant within the tax system.
These obligations include registering with the ERS, filing tax returns within the prescribed deadlines and declaring all relevant income.
Mahlalela also emphasised the importance of submitting nil returns during periods where businesses may not have conducted any operations.
She explained that failure to submit such returns often leads to taxpayers being classified as non-compliant, even when they have not generated taxable income. According to Mahlalela, many compliance challenges arise from limited understanding of tax requirements rather than deliberate tax evasion.
For this reason, the ERS continues to invest in taxpayer education programmes aimed at helping businesses and individuals understand their obligations and avoid unnecessary penalties.
*Full article available on Pressreader*
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