By ‘Majirata Latela
The Customs and Excise Bill of 2019 Report says amending the draft law will pave way for the Lesotho Revenue Authority(LRA) to collect more revenue from imported goods while at the same time assisting in stopping business people from smuggling goods into the country.
The chairperson of the portfolio committee on the economic and development cluster, Mahoaona Khathi yesterday indicated that the Bill is meant to amend the antiquated Customs and Excise Act of 1982.
“The Customs and Excise Bill is going to help LRA in clearing goods at the border, so it becomes very efficient and saves business owners time.
“We all know the situation at the border, business owners take long hours at the border, or even days to have their goods cleared; they sometimes resort to smuggling goods into the country because of the long queues.
“The Bill now comes with the use of electronic devices which will help ease up things at the border and improve service; it will also help to track the origin of goods,” Khati said.
He added that the Bill will also help business people to get imports and exports permits easily.
A m0ember of the portfolio committee on the economic and development cluster, Tṧepang Tšita-Mosena, seconded the motion to accept the report and told the National Assembly that technology can help speed up clearing processes at the border.
She added that the use of technology enables business owners to declare their goods from the comfort of their homes or offices.
