Rwanda National Police

Every year, millions of dollars of revenues are lost due to smuggling activities that evade customs duties.

In order to minimize this challenge, the Revenue Protection Unit RPU) was established to deter, detect, and prevent smuggling, tax evasion and other breaches of revenue laws.

Its establishment was formalized in October 2012 in an agreement signed between Rwanda National Police (RNP) and Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA), to collaboratively control and manage tax collection in accordance with the law.

Other functions include fighting against corruption within the Revenue Services, minimizing fraudulent acts, protecting government revenue, improving efficiency of revenue collection and heightening public awareness of the effects of fraud.

Since its establishment, the unit has been able to thwart tax evaders and smugglers, as well as carries out regular sensitization campaigns to teach the public about the importance of paying taxes for national development, the Commanding Officer of RPU, Chief Supt. Jean Nepo Mbonyumuvunyi says.

CSP Mbonyumuvunyi

In an interview, CSP Mbonyumuvunyi says that following acute non-tax compliance by the business community in the previous decades, the government found it imperative to include police as a backup force for tax enforcement.

“Many traders had resorted to smuggling and other illegal acts that evade customs duties. Many goods were being smuggled, not paying any form of tax since their transportation wasn’t routed through customs ports, and were therefore not subjected to declaration,” he said.

“But since the establishment of RPU, the situation has dramatically changed whereby,  many successful operations have been conducted against smugglers, while through our sensitization campaigns, many traders now understand better their role in national development through tax compliance.”

Indeed as he explained, statistics indicate that; in the month of August 2015 alone, RRA in partnership with RRU managed to recover Rwf21.2 billion taxes that otherwise would have been evaded, against a target collection of Rwf21.1 billion by the tax body.

A better situation happened the following month in September, when an excess of Rwf2.1 billion was collected against a target of Rwf21.8 billion.

The recovered public money includes funds collected from tax evaders as fines.

Article 369 of the Penal Code states that a taxpayer guilty of tax evasion shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of between three to six months and a fine equal to the evaded tax.

If the taxpayer is guilty of deliberate tax evasion, such as false deliberate accounting entries, forgery and falsification of records or any other act punishable by law, he/she shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of six months to two years and a fine equal to the evaded tax.

“Through professional investigations, we locate tax evaders and they pay the government the money owed through fines as stipulated by the law. On top of that, a big number of cases related to tax evasion acts are handed to prosecution each month. This has worked to deter anyone with intentions to engage in this illegal activity,” CSP Mbonyumuvunyi explained.

“We know that some business people are always looking for loopholes to smuggle goods – and that is why we conduct random operation following credible information either from whistleblowers or the public through community policing. Through such operations, we have found shops and supermarkets selling goods without tax stamps. In order to recover the taxes, we seize these products and inform RRA, which imposes fines on the wrongdoers.”

Some recent cases involved fraudulent traders in Kigali, who were busted and arrested while attempting to manipulate Electronic Billing Machines and cheat the government of taxes more than Rwf384 million.

Another man was arrested over the weekend at Gatuna border as he attempted to flee following Police investigations into his alleged issuance of fake invoices worth Rwf3 billion.

Another case occurred in September when police in Nyabihu seized a vehicle packed with over 200 bottles of smuggled premium liquor brands such as Amarula, Jack Daniels, Glenfiddich Whisky Moet and Chandon.

“We collaborate to educate and sensitize the population on tax payment, investigate taxation offences and facilitate commercial activities,” he added.

RPU and RRA have put in place strategies to improve tax adherence among which include; establishing a platform for tax good governance, which discusses reforms in revenue collection, as well as engage the business community on how they can cooperate with authorities to fight illegal business practices that are conducted with intent to evade tax.