MORE than 1.4bn/- in lost public revenue has been recovered in Kibaha municipality, Coast Region after an anti-corruption crackdown uncovered widespread tax evasion schemes by traders, fuel dealers and factory operators.

Domina Mukama, the regional head for the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) told journalists at the weekend that the recovery exposes how systemic manipulation of service levy payments had quietly deprived the municipality of crucial development funds.

The funds were recovered after an intensive revenue monitoring operation conducted in the October to December 2025 period, targeting the collection of service levy — a key local government revenue source — at the municipal council, she said.

Investigations revealed elaborate practices designed to under-declare sales, conceal taxable transactions and exploit regulatory loopholes, with striking findings including registered traders subletting business premises to other operators. They then failed to pay service levy in accordance with municipal regulations and procedures, she stated.

Even more concerning was the discovery that some petrol station operators were selling fuel outside the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) system, using containers ranging from five to 20 litres, she said.

This effectively bypassed electronic monitoring systems and leading to substantial revenue losses, while fuel transporters were also found to be generating significant income without paying the required service levy, the regional enforcer noted.

In the industrial sector, investigators uncovered factories physically operating within Kibaha municipality but registered in other regions, which created confusion over the correct tax jurisdiction and enabled some investors to avoid paying service levy locally, she said.

Another common tactic involved traders self-declaring their turnover at deliberately reduced levels when paying service levy, instead of actual sales data generated through Z-Reports as required by law. As a result, businesses paid far less than what was legally due, she said.

Some traders went further, paying only half, or none of the levy, arguing that Kibaha is primarily an industrial production zone rather than a sales area and therefore not liable for the full charge, she said.

The PCCB also uncovered cases where traders owned multiple Electronic Fiscal Device (EFD) machines but concealed some of them to suppress accurate reporting of sales, with PCCB intervention significantly boosting municipal collections, working with the municipal director, Dr Rogers Shemwelekwa.

Quarterly monitoring efforts from July to September, October to December and from January 2026 to date, had strengthened enforcement and compliance, as in the July to September period 1.2bn/- was registered in improved collections, while investigators identified 46 traders required to start paying service levy., she explained.

In Mkuranga District, the PCCB recovered 120.9m/- in unpaid monthly contributions to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), as the funds had been deducted from employees but not remitted by employers from various institutions.

About 23 employers had failed to submit more than 1bn/- total NSSF contributions owed to their workers but following PCCB pursuit of investigations, employers have begun settling those arrears in instalments. So far, 120,906,892/- has been remitted to NSSF, with outstanding payments exceeding 1bn/- still being pursued, she asserted.

The public needs to maintain support for anti-corruption efforts by reporting corrupt practices, provide credible information through the toll-free number 113 or by visiting PCCB offices directly, she added.