CASE STUDY:Swaziland Revenue Authority

Focused delivery helps Swaziland hit VAT deadline

When the Swaziland Revenue Authority (SRA) started working with DataTorque to introduce a new value added tax (VAT), their timeframes were extremely tight. RMS went live for VAT registrations on time within just four months of contract signing.

The background

In December 2011, DataTorque began work with the SRA to replace the existing Sales Tax regime with a new VAT. The objective was to improve revenue yield and remove the distortions caused by the old regime. It was also part of a broader transformation project to modernise revenue administration in Swaziland and to bring the Tax and Customs Departments into a unified revenue service, under the SRA. 

The approach

VAT successfully came into effect on 1 April 2012, and throughout DataTorque worked closely with the SRA to deliver the Revenue Management System (RMS) - its first implementation in an African country - inside the limited timeframe.

RMS went live with registrations within four months of contract signing, and full returns, payments, refunds and accounting were implemented only two months later. 

Today the SRA processes thousands of returns filed electronically by customers online each month. In the three years following implementation, SRA managed over 55,000 audit related cases and 2,500 debt cases.

Introducing RMS has helped SRA achieve its goal of growing its revenue base. It’s also proving to be a valuable tool in assisting the mobilisation of resources internally to invest in sustainable development. 

DataTorque and the SRA have added other tax types into RMS and introduced sophisticated workflows in support of the SRA’s business. 

Success stories so far 

• RMS has allowed the SRA to add other revenue types including income tax, provisional tax, PAYE, withholding tax, fuel tax, graded tax and casino levy to provide a single view of the customer and retire legacy systems.
• The Kingdom of Swaziland Budget Review Report 2014/15 notes VAT would rise by 6% in 2014/15 over the previous year.  
• RMS provides workflow support for over 300 internal users across a comprehensive range of revenue administration functions
• "A small surplus was recorded in 2014, partly aided by enhanced domestic revenue collection efforts (e.g. enhanced efficiency in VAT collection, and strengthened audit and compliance)." - IMF Country Report 14/233 on Swaziland in 2014.