> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bumara.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Regulators in Bumara

> How regulator workspaces work, what connecting a regulator does, and what Bumara handles on your behalf.

Bumara gives each regulator its own workspace. They all look and work the same way, so learning
one teaches you the rest.

## The regulators covered

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="PACRA" icon="landmark" href="/regulators/pacra/overview">
    Patents and Companies Registration Agency. Company and business name registration, name
    clearance, annual returns, changes to directors, shares and addresses.
  </Card>

  <Card title="ZRA" icon="receipt" href="/regulators/zra/overview">
    Zambia Revenue Authority. PAYE, turnover tax, withholding tax, VAT, and Smart Invoice.
  </Card>

  <Card title="NAPSA" icon="piggy-bank" href="/regulators/napsa-and-nhima">
    National Pension Scheme Authority. Monthly employee and employer pension contributions.
  </Card>

  <Card title="NHIMA" icon="hand-holding-medical" href="/regulators/napsa-and-nhima">
    National Health Insurance Management Authority. Monthly health insurance contributions.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

Two further bodies are covered by the [compliance health check](/start/compliance-health-check)
and, on higher plans, by full workspaces: the **Workers' Compensation Fund** and your
**local council** for trading licences and business levies.

## What connecting a regulator does

Connecting is not just recording a number. It is what makes Bumara start working for you.

<Steps>
  <Step title="You enter your registration details">
    Your employer number or taxpayer identifier with that body, and any scheme selections — for
    ZRA, which tax types you are registered for.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Bumara works out your obligations">
    It compares your entity type and your selections against what that regulator requires, and
    creates the obligations that apply to you.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Filings are generated with due dates">
    Each obligation produces a filing for the current period, with a due date calculated using the
    regulator's own rule.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Checklists appear">
    Each filing arrives with its tasks and its document requirements, so you know what to do.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Services become available">
    The service catalogue for that regulator opens up, filtered to what your entity type and plan
    allow.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Only tick the tax types and schemes you are genuinely registered for. Ticking PAYE when you have
  no employees creates a monthly obligation you will spend a year filing nil returns against.
</Note>

## The workspace layout

Every regulator workspace has the same pages:

| Page                 | What is there                                                  |
| -------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Overview**         | Active obligations, open filings, next due date, task progress |
| **Obligations**      | The recurring requirements for this regulator                  |
| **Filings**          | One entry per period                                           |
| **Service requests** | One-off jobs, and the catalogue you can request from           |
| **Tasks**            | Everything outstanding for this regulator, in one list         |
| **Documents**        | Everything filed with or received from this regulator          |
| **Timeline**         | Full activity history                                          |
| **Authorisation**    | Your named representative, where the regulator requires one    |

## Which regulators your plan includes

| Plan           | Regulators                                         |
| -------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| **Start**      | ZRA, NAPSA, PACRA                                  |
| **Plus**       | Adds NHIMA and ZPPA                                |
| **Pro**        | Adds Workers' Compensation Fund and local councils |
| **Enterprise** | All                                                |

See [Plan and billing](/account/plan-and-billing).

## What Bumara does on your behalf

| Bumara does                                        | You do                            |
| -------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| Works out which obligations apply to you           | Confirm they look right           |
| Calculates due dates                               | Meet them                         |
| Generates the checklist for each filing            | Work through it                   |
| Pre-fills figures from your payroll and invoicing  | Review and confirm them           |
| Lodges the submission with the regulator           | Request the submission            |
| Records the acknowledgement in your vault          | Nothing                           |
| Warns you before deadlines and expiries            | Act on the warnings               |
| Reviews your standing at each regulator on request | Provide access and answer queries |

Bumara does not decide what your tax position should be, and it does not file anything you have
not asked it to file.

## Adding a regulator later

You can connect a new regulator at any time. Obligations are created from the moment you connect —
Bumara does not retroactively generate filings for periods that have already passed.

If you have missed periods with a regulator you are only now connecting, run a
[compliance health check](/start/compliance-health-check) so the historical position is established
properly, with the correct penalties and interest, rather than guessed at.

## Disconnecting a regulator

If you cease to be registered with a regulator — you deregister for a tax type, or the business
changes form — tell Bumara so the obligations stop being created.

Existing filings are kept. Your history with that regulator does not disappear, because you may
need to evidence it later.

<Warning>
  Disconnecting a regulator does not deregister you with that regulator. That is a separate process
  you must complete with them directly, usually as a service request. Stopping the reminders is not
  the same as stopping the obligation.
</Warning>