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The Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has been accused of selective payments of tax refunds. It is alleged that while some foreign-owned mines’ Value Added Tax (VAT) refunds liabilities are being paid off regularly, refunds to local and state-owned mines are being delayed
The Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has been accused of selective payments of tax refunds. It is alleged that while some foreign-owned mines’ Value Added Tax (VAT) refunds liabilities are being paid off regularly, refunds to local and state-owned mines are being delayed. One such local company is Mopani Copper Mine, which is due to get about US$110 million as refunds. Reports indicate that if ZRA is refunded to the ZCCM IH, where the majority of shares are owned by the government, the company could avoid suiting a foreign partner to fund its expansion plans.
Mopani is looking for a US$300 million capital injection to revamp operations to make the mine profitable. Company sources point out that the selective and slow payments of refunds from ZRA are not helping matters. Mopani’s new parent company ZCCM IH instead of floating shares on the Lusaka Security Exchange (LuSE) to raise the needed funds, seems to favour the option of offloading equity to some foreign investors.
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Newspaper reports indicate that ZRA authorities were refusing to share information about delays in releasing refunds since it was a confidential matter. It also denied commenting on whether the Mopani shares are being bought by foreign investors since it was a confidential matter. However, both Mopani Copper Mines Management and Mines Minister Paul Kabuswe have confirmed that Mopani needed about US$300 million capital injection to make the mine fully productive.
