921 taxpayers implicated in Namibia’s tax refund fraud

WINDHOEK, Jan. 18 — Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) on Wednesday said that 921 taxpayers have been implicated in a refund fraud that surfaced in March last year, an increase from 409 people as reported in July 2022.
Steven Ndorokaze, a NamRA spokesperson, disclosed the information in an update statement Wednesday.
Namibia last year halted the processing of tax refund claims for individual provisional taxpayers amid the scam.
“These taxpayers are employees of 56 institutions ranging from private companies, government offices, ministries and agencies, and public institutions,” the spokesperson said.
According to Ndorokaze, the total refund under consideration is more than 136 million Namibia dollars (about 8.1 million U.S. dollars), up from the last indicated amount of 36 million Namibia dollars.
“Thus far, 7.8 million Namibia dollars has been recovered through various efforts. In line with the recovery process, 128 demand letters were issued to the implicated taxpayers. Fourteen institutions have been appointed as agents to collect on behalf of NamRA,” he said.
To date, 50 criminal cases have been lodged with the Namibian Police and further actions will follow as determined by Namibian Police Force, as the investigations continue, he said.  (Xinhua)