Parliament has faulted the country’s tax collector Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) over its failure to have title deeds for its assets.

Public Accounts Committee of Parliament (PAC) has expressed the dismay amid revelation that MRA has no title deeds since the Authority’s establishment in 1998.

According to PAC chairperson Shadreck Namalomba, the development is both worrisome and questionable for a big institution like MRA.

He said: “It’s quite surprising in the sense that since 1998 when MRA was formed they took over assets from government, those assets weren’t perfected, didn’t have title deeds as we talk now.”

“And the question that the Committee had was you mean you could take all these years to organise the title deeds, what is now the opinion on the financial statements.”

But responding to the query, MRA Commissioner General John Biziwick whilst acknowledging the absence of title deeds, said the registration of its assets is an ongoing process.

“It’s an ongoing process, as we reported to the Committee that the Act actually empowered MRA to take over all the land which belonged to Customs Division as well as Income Tax Division,” said Biziwick.

“So for as we felt that that was automatic but it transpired that-that wasn’t automatic, we need to do the actual transfer.”

He expressed optimism that by June this year, MRA will finalise to register all the title deeds.

MRA was established by the 1998 Act of Parliament, and it started its operations in 2000.