Aizawl: HC Lalthawmliana, executive member (EM) for taxation in the Lai Autonomous District Council (LADC), said on Tuesday the council’s taxation department is stepping up efforts to stop illegal trading from across the border, mainly Myanmar, in south Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district.Addressing a meeting with representatives of the Lawngtlai District Merchants Association (LDMA), Lalthawmliana said additional taxation check gates and more police beat posts are being erected to curb illegal trade and tax evasion.He said blocking illegal foreign trade at Mizoram-Myanmar border entry points would end unregulated commerce and “highly benefit the trading community of the district,” and appealed for cooperation from the LDMA.Lalthawmliana also urged traders to register under the Goods & Services Tax (GST), saying compliance would help “do away with malpractices in border trade and trading inside the district.” He said GST registration would stop the use of fake documents, prevent tax evasion, and benefit both the government and local residents.Unregulated cross-border movement of commodities, including fuel, has continued into Myanmar’s southern Chin state. Since the February 1, 2021 military coup, Chin and Rakhine states have been cut off from mainland Myanmar, making Lawngtlai and adjoining Siaha districts key routes for supplies into western Myanmar, even as the trade remains unofficial and illegal.
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