Malawi Revenue Authority beats first-quarter target as Tambulasi-led reforms bear fruit

The Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) collected K1.398tn in tax revenue during the first quarter of the 2026/27 fiscal year, surpassing its target by K20bn in a sign that reforms introduced under commissioner general Felix Tambulasi are gaining traction.

According to an internal update seen by this publication, the authority mobilised the funds between April and June, ahead of the K1.378tn it had been tasked to collect over the period.

The performance lends early support to Tambulasi’s forecast that the MRA would exceed its full-year target of K6.2tn for 2026/27 — a figure that marks a substantial increase on the K4.3tn goal set for the previous fiscal year.

The stronger collection follows a series of tax measures introduced by the government since last year, aimed at broadening revenue mobilisation and narrowing the fiscal deficit that has weighed on Malawi’s public finances.

Analysts will be watching closely to see whether the momentum can be sustained across the remaining three quarters, particularly as the authority pursues a target roughly 44 per cent higher than what it collected in the prior year.