ZRA migrates historical tax records, calls for review

The Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has urged taxpayers to review their TaxOnline account statements following the migration of historical tax records, warning that some account balances and transaction references may appear different.

In a statement issued on Thursday, ZRA Corporate Communications Manager, Oliver Nzala, said the migration, completed on October 6, 2026, transferred historical tax account transactions from decommissioned legacy systems to TaxOnline, allowing taxpayers to access historical and current records on a single platform.

Nzala said the migrated data include tax returns, payments, offsets, assessments, penalties, fines, interest and refunds.

He said while some taxpayers may notice increases or decreases in their account balances, the migration did not create any new tax liabilities.

“The migration itself does not introduce a new tax. It brings historical transactions into the current system. A transaction appearing for the first time on a TaxOnline statement is not necessarily a newly incurred obligation,” he said.

Nzala said changes in account balances or unfamiliar transaction references could cause concern, particularly among taxpayers who believe they had already settled their obligations.

He urged taxpayers to carefully review their statements and report any discrepancies, supported by relevant documentation, for verification and reconciliation.

According to the Authority, a changed balance should not automatically be regarded as an error, as the underlying assessment, return, payment, credit or adjustment must first be verified against official records.

“ZRA conducted a review of historical records before the migration, correcting tax periods where necessary, removing duplicate entries and resolving posting errors,” Nzala said.

Transactions already reflected on TaxOnline were excluded to prevent duplicate charges or credits.

He said all migrated transactions are identified with a “Legacy” tag and include the original narration and reference details.

Some payments may also display a new TaxOnline payment reference number, while the original payment reference remains available under the description as a “legacy PRN” to help taxpayers trace and reconcile transactions.

Nzala advised taxpayers to retain their original payment receipts and use the legacy references when submitting queries.

He further cautioned taxpayers against making duplicate payments or filing tax returns again simply because transactions appear missing or different after the migration.

Instead, taxpayers should contact the ZRA Call Centre or visit the nearest ZRA office with supporting documents for verification.

Nzala said consolidating historical and current tax records into one system was expected to provide taxpayers with a more complete view of their accounts, reduce reliance on outdated systems and improve the efficiency of account verification and query resolution.

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