To date, he has held senior management positions, both in the private and public sectors including that of a senior external auditor in two top world-wide auditing firms, chief accountant of a large multi-national company, group chief internal auditor, director of finance and, most recently, Commissioner in charge of Value Added Tax (VAT), at Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), a highly recognized revenue institution in which he worked for 10 years, from its very infancy stage, where he also contributed significantly to the successful introduction of VAT in Zambia. In addition, he played a key role in the establishment of VAT administrations in the African sub-region, including Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Lesotho. At ZRA, Dr. Banda joined the authority soon after its establishment and assisted to introduce wide ranging measures including revenue monitoring and accounting; effective debt management; cost-effective compliance measures; performance management; recommending and implementing practicable legislative measures.

He also played a leading role in the establishment of a large taxpayer unit; central investigation unit; internal affairs unit (to check against staff malpractice in terms of fraud and corruption); central debt collection unit; and the central advice centre. He was a project director for the VAT Information Processing System (VIPS), a computer system for VAT, and the Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS) for VAT and direct taxes (Income Tax), which included risk-based audit selections, with interface to Customs Asycuda system. He also played a key role in the design and implementation of the Tax Amnesty, which raised substantial amounts of money for the government. In all, Dr. Banda significantly assisted to bring ZRA to its current modern, efficient and effective status, mostly regarded by the donor community and other stakeholders as the model for Africa, whereby many countries in Africa and beyond, have been sending their staff on attachments to learn the best practices in tax administration.

 

His international assignments included the following:

 

Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) – March 2000:

Requested by the Tanzanian Government, through TRA, to carry out a post – implementation review of the introduction of VAT in Tanzania. The report covered wide ranging recommendations, which were implemented and improved the revenue collections. The report was well received by TRA, the Government and the donor community, including the IMF and the World Bank.

 

Lesotho Revenue Authority (LRA) March 2002:

Presented a joint bid with PMTC to establish the LRA, including the introduction of VAT. The bid was successful and both LRA and its VAT Division were successfully established.

 

Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) – March 2003:

Requested by the Zimbabwean Government, through ZIMRA, to plan and recommend detailed procedures required for the introduction of VAT in Zimbabwe. The report was well received and led to the successful launch of VAT in Zimbabwe, without any adverse reaction from the stakeholders.

 

Chairman of the Forum for VAT Administrators in Africa – 2001 and 2002:

Successfully, managed the Forum from 2001 to 2002. The membership has since grown to a larger grouping, sharing valuable experiences in tax administration and improving compliance.