Rwanda : RRA, Police move to fight illegal trade

RRA Commissioner Ben Kagarama and IGP Emmanuel Gasana signing cooperation agreement

The Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) and the national Police have strengthened their commitment to fight fraud and all forms of illegal trade.

The commitment was renewed through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two institutions spearheaded by the leaders of the institutions.

The MoU comes as a response to challenges faced by the tax administration in the enforcement of tax and customs laws, which is sometimes due to the nature of borders which are porous.

The agreement will see the police force help the tax body in preventing, detecting and investigating cases related to combating tax evasion and smuggling.

During the signing held at the RRA Headquarters in Kimihurura, Inspector General of Police Emmanuel Gasana said that police is committed to the “noble cause” and to cooperate to fight crimes of all sort including tax evasion and smuggling.

The Police currently have a unit known as the Revenue Protection Unit (RPU) – attached to the tax body, and the agreement comes to cement the partnership.

The RRA Commissioner Ben Kagarama commended the Police for its commitment to fight crimes, noting that the partnership will further help the tax administration to accomplish its duties.

He also lauded the force for collaborating with other institutions to safe-guard public order and enforcing of law including preventing and investigating fraud.

“Given the porous nature of our borders which renders the efforts of cracking down smuggling and other forms of illicit trade cumbersome, there is need to cooperate with other institutions to combat this,” said Kagarama.