The Institute of Tax Administration (ITA) held its 15th graduation in Dar es Salaam at the Institute’s Multipurpose Hall on Friday 25th November 2022. A total of 489 students graduated in various disciplines including the East Africa Customs Freight Forwarding Practicing Certificate Course (EACFFPC), Diploma in Customs and Taxation Management, Postgraduate Diploma in taxation, Bachelor’s degree in Customs and Tax Management (DCTM), Bachelor in Customs and Taxation Management (BCTM), Postgraduate Diploma in Customs Administration (PGDCA), Postgraduate Certificate in Customs Administration (PGCCA) and the Postgraduate in Taxation (PGDT). 194 belonged to the EACFFPC Training Programme.
ITA, the training arm of the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), was officially registered in 2007 as an institute of higher learning in Tanzania and was accredited in 2009 by the National Council for Technical Education (NACTE).
According to ITA’s Rector, Professor Isaya Jairo, training tax experts is vital as it boosts the efforts geared towards enhancing revenue collection by the government.
ITA has built strong collaborations with other institutions of higher learning such as Muenster in Germany and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Through the partnership, ITA offers among other programs, a master’s degree in Tax Law and Revenue Management whose administration began in 2012. ITA also cooperates with the associations of Customs Agents in the United Republic of Tanzania and the East Africa region, including the Tanzania Freight Forwarders Association (TAFFA), Zanzibar Freight Forwarders Bureau (ZFB), and Federation of East African Freight Forwarders Associations (FEAFFA) in building the capacity of customs agents to enhance their knowledge and skills to provide efficient customs and freight logistics services.
According to prof. Jairo, the institute focuses on building the competencies of learners through practical training.
In an earlier interview, the Ag. Executive Director of the Federation of East African Freight Forwarders Associations (FEAFFA) Mr. Elias Baluku said more than 6000 customs agents had successfully completed the mandatory training program in 2022 across the region boasting the number of industry professionals available for deployment in the sector.
According to Baluku, the successful implementation of the EACFFPC training Programme in Tanzania underscores the importance of building strong collaborations with the key stakeholders in the logistics sector such as Revenue Authorities for the benefit of the regional economy.
The EACFFPC program is one of FEAFFA’s interventions aimed at enhancing professionalism and compliance in the logistics sector and has received a lot of support from TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) including updating the curriculum, developing an online learning portal to ease access by the Customs Clearing and Forwarding Agents.
It is expected that these interventions will equip targeted logistics players with the necessary skills and other competencies critical to the delivery of quality services. In the long run, the industry will benefit from the efficiencies which will significantly reduce the time and cost of doing business in the region.
This article was published by the editorial team at FEAFFA. For any enquiries, contact us via Email: freightlogistics@feaffa.com Tel: +254733780240
