The Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC) and Centre for Democracy and Economic Development initiatives (CDEDI) have urged traders to open their shops by Monday 11th May saying the closure has affected ordinary Malawians.
The two organisations have said this in separate press briefings held in Blantyre and Lilongwe respectively following the closure of shops in most cities and towns by the shop owners since Monday 4th May 2026. The shop owners are protesting against the newly introduced Electronic Invoicing System by the Malawi Revenue Authority MRA. The MRA introduced the EIS tax collection system on May 1 this year.
Speaking in Blantyre Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC) Chairperson Robert Mkwezalamba, told traders unwilling to adopt the new Invoicing System for tax collection to shut down their businesses saying there are many people who wish to register and start plying their businesses in the country.
Mkwezalamba said the resistance by some traders is hurting the country’s economy hence giving a 14 days ultimatum to the traders to open their business.
“Businesses must subscribe and register to EIS they need to register and proceed to comply with EIS provisions and all laws governing trade in Malawi”, added Mkwezalamba.
According to him, the new system is designed to enable government to collect adequate tax revenue thus commending the MRA for its commitment to helping traders register under the new system. He also called on government to review the threshold to ensure that everyone is on EIS to ensure inclusivity.
Speaking in Lilongwe CDEDI executive director Silvesta Namiwa concurred with Mkwezalamba saying the shop closure have affected people who depend upon small scale business who frequently order their merchandise from the shops as well as those that work in the shops.
According to Namiwa, the country has been losing a lot of money as some shop owners were running away from paying taxes hence asking all traders to adhere to the new laws by registering into the new system for the economic development of the country.
“If people are not paying taxes or if they are running away from remitting their taxes it means the government do not have adequate finances to buy essential needs. You will see that the hospitals will lack medical supplies, there will be no food and so many needs because the government does not have money”, he added.
Namiwa has since given the traders until Monday 11th May to open their shops, failure which, he will organize national wide demonstrations.
He however cautioned politicians who abuse government resources including tax payers’ money to preventing misusing the newly introduced system just to enrich themselves.
There has been an outcry from business operators in the country against the EIS, asking MRA to reconsider some conditions saying the new system will injure most businesses.
However, On Tuesday 5 May 2026, Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) Commissioner General Felix Tambulasi insisted that the authority will not reverse its decision requiring traders to use the EIS.
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