According to the Zambia Revenue Authority’s Q1 […]

According to the Zambia Revenue Authority’s Q1 report, 43.5 thousand taxpayers are now registered on Smart Invoice, with 95.3% of the value-added tax population now being boarded on the system. Further, the report indicates that the value of invoices transmitted through the system currently stands at K3.9 trillion as at 19th April 2026.

Economic expert Salwindi Notulu hailed the progress of the smart invoicing system but urged for improvements in the collection of value-added tax. Speaking in an interview with Zambian Business Times (ZBT), Notulu said improving VAT is necessary to complement other taxes such as PAYE and corporate.

“If we improve in terms of VAT collection, that will help complement the other taxes that are being collected because for things like PAYE or corporate tax, those are more formal and easy to get compared to indirect taxes like value-added tax,” he added.

However, Notulu highlighted that indirect taxes, especially for local small businesses, might not be in the position to offer receipts after customers make purchases, which makes it a huge challenge in the collection of taxes. Notulu further mentioned the need to strictly work on some of the loopholes that come with smart invoices to help ensure that the country doesn’t lose out on taxation.

 “Smart invoicing will really help reduce some of the gaps, even though it won’t be 100%, but providing it is reducing the overall cost of collection and inspection; that is a plus.”

 By Justine Phiri