MRA launches 3rd Training Centre & Online Complaints Management System

The Mauritius Revenue Authority held a press meet Wednesday on the occasion of the inauguration of its third Training Centre & Documentation Unit, as well as the launching of its Online Centralised Complaints Management System at Belfort Tower, Port Louis.

Hon Mrs Maya Hanoomanjee, Speaker of the National Assembly, was the Chief Guest, and was welcomed by Mr Sudhamo Lal, Director General of the MRA.

In his speech, Mr Sudhamo Lal stated that the Hon Mrs Hanoomanjee has been one of the main architects involved in the conception and design of a visionary project for the setting up of a new and modern Revenue Administration for Mauritius. “As the first Chairperson of the MRA Board, she made sure that the modernization team translated the theory into practice and MRA took its shape in concrete form from the design board. In this exercise, Mrs Jugmohun was also instrumental and made good contributions, “ he said.

The inauguration of this Training Centre at Belfort Tower is another milestone in the pursuit of excellence in the MRA’s endeavours for the continuous professional development of their staff. In this respect, Mr Lal pointed to the MRA’s full-fledged training academy, with three training centres also equipped with modern facilities, including Documentation Units and computer laboratory to design, develop and conduct training programmes for the benefit of its staff. These measures have been implemented, said Mr Lal, to empower MRA staff to effect a paradigm shift with a view to better respond to the needs and imperatives of the nation. “Stringent bureaucracy, complacency, and the like had to be thrown out and replaced by agility, professionalism, and focus on enhanced customer service,” he added.

The World Customs Organization (WCO) has accredited the MRA Training Academy as a WCO Multilingual Regional Training Centre in November 2013 to cater for the training and development needs of French and Portuguese speaking Revenue Administrations of the Eastern and Southern African (ESA) region.

On the other hand, MRA is recognized as the one of the biggest employers of fully qualified accountants. In this respect, the MRA has been recognized and registered as an Accredited ACCA Employer as the knowledge and experience gained by officers through the work process and interaction with senior officers, together with intensive annual training courses on International Accounting Standards & International Financial Reporting Standards are deemed adequate for them to be kept on the roll of professional accountants.

As regards TAX/VAT, the MRA has become the privileged partner of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), which is fast becoming the apex organisation catering for the development and technical assistance needs of the African Revenue Administrations.

 Mr Lal also mentioned that the MRA has always promoted a paperless strategy, hence the implementation to evolve in a paperless environment with the use of the Online Complaint Management System which will allow members of the public to send their complaints electronically to the MRA. The system caters for the lodging of a complaint through an automated process which then allocates the complaints to the responsible departments. Through this system, the MRA will be able to enhance the quality of services provided to the MRA’s stakeholders. “As a responsible organization, the MRA is keen to learn from its customers where they have not met their expectations so that they can provide them with better services. Effective complaint management can be an opportunity for the MRA to review and improve, where appropriate, its systems and procedures,” he said.

* Published in print edition on 17 June 2016

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