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The Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) may have averted the loss of K3.1 million estimated revenue arising from a fraudulent activity involving 80,000 litres of ethanol which was smuggled into the country.
The consignment had been declared as hydrogen peroxide.
ZRA Corporate Communications Manager, Oliver Nzala, said the Authority had intercepted 80,000 litres of ethanol, which was declared as hydrogen peroxide.
Nzala in a statement issued on Thursday explained that the ethanol was packed in 80 drums each of 1000 litres.
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“However, an inspection for quantity and declaration revealed that the product was ethanol. Further inspections of the two trucks used for smuggling and verification of documents also revealed that the same consignment was declared as ethanol in Botswana.
“The drums on the trucks have stickers that show that the consignment is hydrogen peroxide. This is just to conceal the true consignment, which is ethanol. The estimated revenue loss on this fraudulent activity is K3.1 million,” he said.
Nzala regretted that smuggling distorted the collection of data by customs for trade purposes, loss of revenue and unfair trade competition.
He, therefore, warned that ZRA, in collaboration with other government agencies, was committed to the fight against illicit trade.
“The Authority has deployed robust techniques to ensure that it actively conducts intelligence surveillance, investigations, and prosecution of unscrupulous traders,” he said.
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