Simon Akuei Deng, Commissioner-General of South Sudan Revenue Authority - Courtesy

The South Sudan Revenue Authority has warned public officials to stop using the outdated Financial Form 15 for collecting government revenue.

The warning was issued during a joint media briefing with the Director of Civil Registry, Nationality, Passport and Immigration at the revenue authority’s headquarters in Juba.

Simon Akuei Deng, the Commissioner General of the tax agency, said a new batch of Financial Form 15 with improved security features has been printed, distributed, and officially approved for use across the country.

He said some individuals and institutions are still using the old forms even though the new version is already authorized.

He added that investigations are ongoing to understand why outdated or forged forms are still in circulation, and to protect the integrity of the revenue system.

“The South Sudan Revenue Authority, in its mandate to safeguards government revenue and ensures transparency and accountability in all financial transactions, has observed with concern that some individuals, institutions and offices are still in possession of and continue to use old financial forms,” he said.

“The practice is improper, unlawful and unacceptable, especially since a new batch of customized financial forms with enhanced security features has already been printed, distributed and officially authorized for use across the Republic of South Sudan,” he added.

Maj Gen Elia Costa, the Director General of Civil Registry, Nationality, Passport and Immigration, said actions will taken against those involved in forging documents such as visas, nationality papers, passports, and other immigration papers.

“What is facing us in the directorate, that is the issue of forgery of the documents, specially Form 15. So, we have arrested some of our personnel who are forging the Form 15. And also, plus our documents, the visa, even the nationality and the passport and the other documents concerning the immigration office,” he said.

“So, we are here today to inform our public that we are working very hard to make sure that those who are trying to forge the document, we will arrest them. And once we arrest, we take them to the police court,” he said.

Gen Costa urged the public and institutions to follow the right procedures and process their documents in person rather than sending someone else.