Foreign Exchange Rates

DStv Advert_090724

DStv Advert_090724

SBT Tanzania Advert_291123

Friday, 23 September 2022

CLYDE & CO UPDATER - TANZANIA NATIONAL PAYMENT SYSTEMS ACT AMENDMENTS


In July 2021, mobile money transfer levies were introduced by the Tanzanian Government as a new strategy for collecting revenue in an effort to raise an estimated TZS 1.254 trillion for the financial year 2021/2022. These measures were implemented through the amendment of the National Payment Systems Act No. 4 of 2015 (the NPS Act) and the enactment of the National Payment Systems (Electronic Mobile Money Transfer and Withdrawal Transaction Levy) Regulations GN No. 496A of 2021(the Levy Regulations 2021).

Mobile Money Transfer Levies

The Levy Regulations 2021 were subsequently amended so as to reduce the levy rates in response to heavy opposition from the general public. The reduced rates were given effect by the National Payment Systems (Electronic Mobile Money Transfer and Withdrawal Transactions Levy) (Amendment) Regulations GN No. 642A of 2021 (the Levy Amendment Regulations 2021).

Electronic Money Transaction Levy – New Regulations

Further changes to the mobile money levy regime have since been introduced in the financial year 2022/2023. The Parliament amended section 46A of the NPS Act through the Finance Act No. 5 of 2022 and enacted the National Payment Systems (Electronic Money Transaction Levy) Regulations GN No. 478V of 2022 (the New Regulations).

Section 46A now reads as follows:

  1. “There is established a levy to be charged on mobile money transfer transaction at a rate ranging from 10 to 4,000 Tanzanian Shillings.
  2. The Minister [for Finance] shall, after consultation with the Minister responsible for communication, make regulations prescribing the manner and modality under which the levy on mobile money transfer transactions may be collected and accounted for.
  3. The provisions of this section shall not apply to transactions involving payment of salaries by employers.”
These changes came into effect on 1 July 2022 and repealed the Levy Regulations 2021. The New Regulations form part of a solidarity funding plan which aims to accumulate almost TZS 30 trillion to finance various national development projects.

Key changes to the Levy

Section 46A of the NPS Act has been amended to reduce the maximum amount of the levy, which was initially set at TZS 10,000 by the Finance Act No. 3 of 2021 and thereafter, amended to TZS 7,000 by the Levy Amendment Regulations 2021. It has now been reduced to TZS 4,000 for an electronic money transaction of TZS 3,000,0001 and above, which is a 43% decrease from the latter. It also excludes transactions involving the payment of salaries by employers from the levy.

Under the New Regulations, the levies are payable by “users” of electronic money and collected by the relevant bank, financial institution or electronic money issuer. A “user” is defined as a person who “transfers” or “withdraws” money electronically or over the counter other than the Government, merchant or business.

The New Regulations have redefined the terms “transfer”, “user” and “withdrawal” as compared to the Levy Regulations 2021 so as to clearly define the scope of the levy.

No comments:

Post a Comment