Zambia tax system outage prompts penalty relief for businesses, including gambling sector
The Zambia Revenue Authority waives penalties and interest after a 72-hour system disruption, with licensed gambling operators among businesses affected by the outage.
Zambia.- The Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has announced that it will waive penalties and interest linked to a recent 72-hour technical outage that disrupted several of its core tax and customs systems, a move expected to affect licensed gambling operators, which submit tax filings and payments through the authority’s digital platforms.
The disruption occurred on March 1 and temporarily affected key online systems used by businesses across multiple sectors to file returns, process payments and manage customs declarations. The waiver ensures that taxpayers, including licensed gambling operators, who were unable to file or process payments during the outage are not penalised for delays beyond their control.
ZRA Commissioner General Dingani Banda said the decision to waive penalties was intended to reduce the impact of the outage on taxpayers. “We have resolved to waive penalties and interest directly linked to the technical disruption in order to lessen the impact on taxpayers and support our stakeholders,” said Banda.
Systems and impact
According to the authority, the disruption affected several digital platforms, including ASYCUDAWorld, TaxOnline, Smart Invoice and the Integrated Payment System, which businesses use to meet tax and compliance obligations.
Licensed gambling operators, including betting companies and casinos, rely on the same systems to submit tax filings and payments. This means they may also benefit from the temporary waiver if their submissions were affected by the outage.
ZRA said all core services were restored within 72 hours, although the authority continues working to fully stabilise system operations. Banda added that the incident is not expected to affect the authority’s monthly revenue target. ZRA also apologised for the inconvenience caused and appealed for patience as it works to restore its digital systems.
