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Zimbabwe Revenue Authority’s customs alert system led to the arrest of two Kenyans at Kazungula Border post for smuggling 60kgs of marijuana into Zimbabwe.

The Kenyans, Kamau Joseph Muchai and Duke Sammy will spend the next six years in prison following their conviction by the Victoria Falls Magistrate Court for possessing dangerous drugs.

The incident occurred on 2 February 2024 when Muchai and Sammy presented themselves for customs formalities at Kazungula Private Imports counter where they requested a Temporary Import Permit (TIP) for their vehicle, claiming they were in transit to Kenya.

During the routine inspection of the vehicle, the ZIMRA officer became suspicious of the van, which had new side panels and appeared to have been recently painted to convert it into a fridge van. Inside the van, the officer found personal clothing, diesel containers, mineral water and groceries. However, the officer noticed that the interior dimensions of the van were shorter than the exterior dimensions, suggesting the presence of an undisclosed compartment.

When questioned about the discrepancy, Kamau and Duke failed to provide satisfactory answers. The officer decided to conduct a thorough physical examination and discovered an inaccessible space between the front of the van and the loading compartment.

The van was then taken to the search bay, where the false compartment was opened and found 60.5 kilograms of marijuana concealed in eight wrapped black plastic bags, divided into 67 small packages.

Kamau and Sammy were later detained and handed over to the local police while the vehicle was seized by ZIMRA.

On February 4, the two appeared in court at Victoria Falls magistrate court, where they were convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Four years of their sentence were suspended on the condition of good behavior, leaving them with an effective six-year prison term.

The Commissioner for Customs and Excise, Mr. Batsirai Chadzingwa, praised the collaboration between ZIMRA and other law enforcement agencies at the border and vowed to maintain vigilance and active surveillance in order to protect society. He highlighted the importance of ZIMRA's role in safeguarding Zimbabwe from becoming a hub for illegal drugs and substances, both as a destination and a transit point.

The Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Professor Mthuli Ncube, commissioned the newly built flats for ZIMRA employees in Beitbridge.

It was an important day at Beitbridge border post as the Minister, accompanied by the ZIMRA board Chairman, Mr. Anthony Mandiwanza, other Board members, the Commissioner General of ZIMRA, Ms. Regina Chinamasa, and her executive attended the commissioning ceremony. The event was particularly significant as it took place just a day before the International Customs Day, 26 January.

The Board Chairman chronicled the genesis of the project and how it has alleviated the plight of staff members and thanked government for the support, before introducing the Minister of Finance to give his remarks. The Minister acknowledged the importance of the occasion and the nation’s commitment to its development agenda. “The event is timely as it is one of the many projects that have been completed within the lifespan of the country’s radical blue print, the National Development Strategy 1”, he declared. The Minister further reiterated that the delivery of affordable, sustainable, modern functional housing and social amenities is part of the Vision 2030 as espoused by His Excellency, President Dr E.D Mnangagwa.

He emphasized the importance of preserving energy by using alternative energy sources such as solar energy and explore the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for cooking, as the later would not only reduce the organisation’s energy bill but also alleviate the strain on the national utility ZESA. He also encouraged the leadership to demonstrate the same commitment in the other projects at Forbes Border Post, Chirundu and Maitengwe.

In his appreciation remarks, Mr Johnsai Dewah, one of the Board members expressed gratitude to the government for the support while encouraging staff members to preserve the flats for future inhabitants. “These structures represent not only a significant investment by the government but also a testament to the commitment we have towards our employees and the development of our nation. It is our duty to ensure that these flats are well-maintained and cared for throughout the years to come” he said.

Among the ZIMRA employees present, Mr Tafadzwa Magudu, an administration staff member stationed at the border, couldn’t contain his excitement as he felt the provision of accommodation was a much needed point of relief.

The provision of sustainable housing facilities will undoubtedly contribute to a more productive and motivated workforce, ultimately benefiting the whole nation.

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority joined the rest of the world on the 26^th of January 2024 to celebrate the World Customs Day in Beitbridge. The WCD, is a global event that highlights the critical role of customs administrations in promoting international trade, securing borders, and facilitating economic growth.

The Commissioner General, Ms. Regina Chinamasa, led the procession of staff members and other stakeholders as they marched from Beitbridge town to the border, where the official event was held.

At the Beitbridge border post, the official event was attended by esteemed guests with officials from the South African Revenue Services (SARS), South African Police Services (SAPS), Border Management Authority (BMA) among other international partners and senior government officials. 

This year 2024’s theme, "Customs Engaging Traditional and New Partners with Purpose," underscores the significance of collaboration between customs agencies and other stakeholders to quicken trade facilitation, sharing information, data collection, addressing emerging challenges and harnessing opportunities in an ever-evolving global landscape.

In his welcome remarks, the Member of Parliament for Matebeleland South under the youth quota, Mr Tinashe Mushipe, expressed his gratitude to government and ZIMRA for selecting his province to host the event. He acknowledged the importance of cooperation and support between various stakeholders with ZIMRA to build a prosperous nation and in line with government’s vision of an Upper Middle Class economy by 2030. The Commissioner General reinforced this view highlighting the importance of working with traditional partners and forging alliances with new partners.

The World Customs Organisation representative in Zimbabwe, who is also the Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr. Batsira Chadzingwa, took the opportunity to stress the importance of adapting to the changing dynamics in global trade. He also emphasized the importance of building synergies with traditional and new partners, this approach effectively addresses the challenges faced in customs and international trade.

The event also witnessed the innovative technologies that ZIMRA is employing to streamline operations and enhance efficiency. Mr Mukwena, who is managing the drone technology took the opportunity to showcase how the drone is going to effectively tame the vices in customs management. He took the gathering through the whole process of drone management and the distances that are to be covered by the drones. 

A pre-recorded speech by the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion highlighted the importance of Customs administrators who serve as dynamic custodians of national borders, ensuring the smooth flow of goods, protecting societies from illicit activities, and contributing to the overall economic prosperity of the country. He further emphasised the dynamic nature of international trade that necessitates customs agencies to adapt and forge partnerships with both traditional and new stakeholders, amplifying their collective impact and fostering seamless trade facilitation.

In a move designed to enhance efficient and effective trade facilitation, Forbes Border post opened a 24-hour facility on 15 January 2024. The development has come at a time when congestion had been experienced between the Forbes and Machipanda Border Post and will therefore aid in increasing traffic flow and de-congesting the border.

Mr Batsirayi Chadzingwa, the ZIMRA Commissioner Customs and Excise expressed satisfaction on ZIMRA’s is preparedness to operate the 24hour facility.

“As ZIMRA we are ready to operate 24hours at this border as this is not the first time to have a border running 24hours. Our staff members are ready to quick-start the project. Yes, we have some constraints in terms of resources, but we can do with what we have to ensure that we deliver on this mandate. We also need to look at the benefit of having a 24-hour border post as it allows the continuous movement of trucks. Over the past few years, we have heard reports of travellers queuing for almost 13km waiting on either side of the border to be cleared when we were closing at 10pm, ” he said.

The new system has aligned the process of physical verifications of goods cleared on Bills of Entry to become a 24-hour operation. The border operates 24 hours per day, on three (3) shifts working arrangement compared to the previous single 14 hour shift per day. The new arrangement has added 10 more hours thereby lengthening effective business working time to 24 hours per day. Trucks continue moving as they are cleared non-stop. All serving officers from different government departments operate around the clock now, including clearing agents.

Commenting on the facility, Regional Immigration Officer Mr Richard Tambandini revealed that everything was in place for the system to succeed.

“Our system is in place and no challenges were encountered. We recorded 22 entries into the country and 83 exits from 10pm. We expect volumes to increase with time as people become accustomed to the new development.” he said.

Traditionally, the physical movement of goods across the border has been done between 6am to 10pm, this way lesser number of trucks crossed the border compared to the number relating to Bills of Entry documents processed online in Asycuda per day and it always resulted in congestion. The two countries will reap the benefit from this facility which will increase volume of trade, productivity and capital inflow.  The border serves almost half of the SADC region and is clearing about 550 haulage trucks every day.

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) fostered a major partnership by signing a memorandum of agreement with Zimbabwe Investment Authority(ZIDA) on 12 January 2024 in Harare. The MOU aims to enhance Ease of doing Business and to facilitate domestic and foreign investment in Zimbabwe.

The Memorandum of Understanding between the two entail a one stop Investment centre which encompasses integration of electronic services and investor-related services. The agreement also provides a platform for information exchange on Investor Tax incentives and Tax obligations. The parties also agreed to work together in formulating policies to promote ease of doing business and investment.

Making his remarks during the signing ceremony the ZIDA Chief Executive Officer Mr Tendai Chinamo highlighted that ZIDA already had an existing cordial relationship with ZIMRA.

“We are now committing ourselves to even higher standards, we are saying how can we become more efficient. When an investor comes generally most of the intervention has to do with tax obligations. We will also advise ZIMRA on policies that affect the entry retention and facilitation of investments and provide assistance to ZIMRA to enable it to perform its functions in terms of the legislation administered by ZIMRA,” he said.

In a statement during the same event the ZIMRA Commissioner General emphasized the Authority’s commitment to service. “The collaboration goes deeper to demonstrate that we want to serve and It’s incumbent on us to do what is necessary. We want to be proactive and the transparency signified by this MoU is a starting point. She added that ZIMRA is going to provide accurate, correct and timely information to the new investors, and it is going to create awareness in terms of the tax obligations that exist giving ZIMRA a pre-and post –investor experience. As we move forward it is important that even when you are working on investment policy, you also have adequate information in terms of monitoring and evaluation of the nature and quality of our investments. On our side, we also need information upfront to know who we are dealing with in order to enhance compliance.” She said.

The partnership between the two parties will consequently integrate their systems to achieve real-time log in of investor information and real-time processing of queries and issues that deal with promotion, protection and facilitation of investment in the country. Commenting during the same event Theresa Machingura, the Chief Legal Officer stressed on the benefits of integrating the two systems which would increase efficiency. She further indicated that the clearly defined roles of the two parties in the MOU, would be in the best interest of the investor.

 “The collaboration aims to ensure Zimbabwe becomes a destination of choice” said Machingura.

The following document describes the onboarding processes for existing taxpayers into the TaRMS system of ZIMRA. The document is addressed to the existing taxpayers of Zimbabwe who are going to continue their taxation operations using the newly designed Self-Service Portal (hereafter SSP) of Tax and Revenue Management System of ZIMRA. Click link the following link to download the guide Guide on Existing Taxpayers' Onboarding to ZIMRA TaRMS System

ZIMRA, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, is now ready to significantly transform tax administration with the introduction of the Tax and Revenue Management System (TaRMS). TaRMS is scheduled to go live on 12 October 2023. The new tax solution, TaRMS, promises to revolutionize the way taxes are managed and collected in Zimbabwe.

This state-of-the-art system will streamline processes, enhance accuracy, and provide taxpayers with a user-friendly platform for seamless interaction with ZIMRA. Taxpayers can expect TaRMS to simplify registration, enhance online services, provide real-time tracking of tax obligations, and automate compliance checks.

The temporary suspension of new taxpayer registrations and master data updates from 9 to 11 October 2023 will pave the way for existing taxpayers to receive their new Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs) and seamlessly integrate into the TaRMS system. ZIMRA is committed to providing comprehensive guidance and support to ensure a smooth transition to TaRMS.

As the go-live date of 12 October 2023 approaches, ZIMRA invites all taxpayers to familiarize themselves with TaRMS and prepare for the change it brings. Under TaRMS, ZIMRA aims to create a modernized tax system that meets the needs of taxpayers and efficiently supports the nation's revenue collection efforts.

ZIMRA will continue to provide update and guidance, as we embark on this transformative journey toward a more streamlined and efficient tax ecosystem.