Malawi 2023/24 Tax Update

The Minister of Finance, Honourable Sosten Alfred Gwengwe, delivered his 2023/24 Budget Statement to Parliament on Thursday, 2 March 2023. In his statement, the finance minister, introducing new measures impacting the Taxation Act, VAT Act as well as the Customs and Excise Act.

We have prepared this commentary based on our understanding of the taxation amendments, as well as important recent changes with respect to the Taxation Act, Companies Act, and Pension Act.

Tax measures announced

• The Value Added Tax (VAT), income tax, and administrative measures will come into effect when the relevant Bills are passed by Parliament and subsequently gazetted. The finance minister indicated in his speech that the effective date will be 1 April 2023.

• The customs and excise tax measures were effective from midnight on 2 March 2023. The Bills in respect of these tax measures are not yet available at the date of publication of this tax update.

2023/24 Supplementary Tax Update: Income Tax, VAT and Customs & Excise Amendments

Following the announcement of proposed tax measures highlighted in the 2023/2024 Budget Statement, tabled on 2 March 2023, the proposed tax measures were subsequently published in Bills No. 4 to 6 of 2023, which were assented to by His Excellency Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, President of the Republic of Malawi, on 5 April 2023. The Gazettes in relation to these amendments have now been published.

This Supplementary Tax Update serves to provide more detail, and Deloitte’s commentary, in relation to the measures outlined in the Finance Minister’s speech with reference to the recently published Taxation (Amendment) Act,2023, VAT (Amendment) Act, 2023, and Customs and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2023.