KARONGI — Businessmen operating within Karongi District, have been urged to always pay their Value Added Tax (VAT) on time.

This was said during a one day tax awareness workshop which was jointly organised by the Private Sector Federation (PSF) and Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA), last week.

The periodic training was aimed at equipping traders with the necessary knowledge needed to make their businesses grow.

While speaking to the participants, James Ngabo, the acting coordinator of RRA in the Western Province, warned the attendees against tax evasion.

"If you pay the taxes on time as it is supposed to be, you avoid penalties. And taxes are the source of government revenue,” Ngabo said.

He advised retailers not to buy goods from wholesale traders who do not pay VAT, as part of the efforts to check tax evasion.

One of the participants, Peter Ndahimana, an accountant at a major hotel in the region, called for more training sessions to boost the knowledge of traders.

"It is a very good initiative because many traders are not informed on how government operates and this will definitely help us a great deal,” he said.

The PSF Director in the province, David Rutambuka, promised to bridge the relationship between individual traders and RRA.

"Sometimes it is very hard for individuals to deal with RRA where there are misunderstandings and we shall always intervene if it is necessary,” he pledged.

Ends