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Zambia has launched an extended tax amnesty offering eligible taxpayers relief from penalties and interest as the government seeks to improve compliance and strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation.
The Extended Voluntary Disclosure Programme, running from Sept. 17 to Dec. 31, 2026, allows eligible taxpayers to voluntarily disclose previously undisclosed or incorrectly declared tax liabilities and settle the principal amounts.
The programme also covers taxpayers with outstanding tax debts who are willing to settle the principal taxes, Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said at the launch in Lusaka on Thursday.
“It is against this background that Government approved the implementation of this Amnesty programme, in order to give all stakeholders ‘a fresh start’ towards tax compliance,” he said.
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Musokotwane said non-compliance remained a major challenge to domestic revenue mobilisation, but stressed that the programme should not be viewed as a reward for non-compliance.
Instead, he said, it provided eligible taxpayers with a structured opportunity to correct past omissions and regularise their tax affairs.
Under the programme, qualifying taxpayers will receive relief from penalties and interest on voluntary disclosures. Penalties and interest on outstanding tax arrears may also be waived, subject to prescribed conditions.
The Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) said the country’s overall tax compliance rate stood at 58% in 2025, with small and medium-sized enterprises recording some of the lowest compliance levels.
The authority said the programme was intended to bring more taxpayers into the formal compliance system and promote a more transparent tax environment.
Meanwhile, ZRA Commissioner-General, Dingani Banda, said the authority had approved value-added tax refunds amounting to 13.7 billion kwacha ($) as of Aug. 31, 2026.
Banda said ZRA had paid 21.2 billion Kwacha in VAT refunds during 2026 to date, with payments largely directed towards clearing the historical backlog under the first-in, first-out system.
He said the private sector accounted for a significant share of outstanding VAT refund obligations.
Taxpayers dissatisfied with the outcome of their applications under the programme will have the right to appeal through the Tax Appeals Office using designated channels.
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