The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Harare Institute of Technology (HIT)) to enhance domestic resource mobilisation.

The prime objectives of the MoU are to provide a broad base for co-operation with the intention of mobilising domestic revenue through the use of their respective personnel, facilities, electronics and resources to unearth economic and business activities being conducted within the economy.

The agreement also involves collaboration in the development of local software solutions to enhance domestic resource mobilisation for the economic development of Zimbabwe.

The two parties agreed to exchange information concerning strategies for revenue mobilisation and collection with a view to developing a common understanding of challenges being faced. This will include information on sector specific practices on tax levying and collection, together with implementation of special projects in different sectors to assess and implement tax compliance, share information on the formulation and implementation of compliance programmes with special emphasis on the use of technological and electronic systems.

ZIMRA and HIT shall provide each other with practical, technical and theoretical training on revenue mobilisation and development of software solutions in domestic resource mobilisation to enhance the capacity of ZIMRA, with an overall aim of improving its service delivery. They also agreed to establish a Joint Technical committee to oversee the implementation and administration of this MoU.

ZIMRA Acting Commissioner General, Mr Rameck Masaire applauded both parties for working tirelessly to produce this MoU.

“I am very cognisant about the process that ZIMRA and HIT went through so as to balance the interest of both parties and bear transformative ideas whose positive impact will be felt across the economy and beyond,” he said.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, the HIT Vice Chancellor Dr Eng. Q.C Kanhukamwe said the partnership is a convergence of minds and is pivotal in making breakthroughs in terms of resource mobilization and industrialisation.

“We hope that through this partnership we can achieve “Vision 2030” and continuously look ahead and beyond 2030. Our thrust as HIT is encapsulated in our mandate, that is development, incubation, transferring of and commercialization of technology for rapid national industrialisation,” he said.

United States of America senator George Vest, lawyer and politician once said that the one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog.

If the above is any message to embrace, it proves true to the immense work that the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) K9 is handling, unselfish, never treacherous and an imperative function in curbing smuggling at ports of entry.  

The ZIMRA sniffer colleague, Carlos being handled by K9 Officer Pesani Mungazi was signalled to search for the possible presence of illicit goods in a Proliner bus on August 26, 2021 at Beitbridge Border Post. He was commanded to sniff the luggage and made some indications around the trailer. Mungazi was together with Simbarashe Chiwiro, Edmore Muronzereyi and Tapiwa Machisa and was assured that there were some illicit products inside the bus-towed trailer.

”We undertook to search an incoming Proliner bus bearing registration number HT51RV GP pulling a trailer with registration number DZ33RR GP and it was coming from South Africa.  Carlos made some indications at five different points around the trailer which prompted the team to conduct a full physical examination of the contents of the goods packed inside the bus trailer. The search yielded the recovery of contraband of 25 boxes of BronCleer Syrup totaling (1250X 100MLS bottles). The assessed value of the detected contraband amounted to US7500.00, said Felix Marizani Supervisor for the K9 unit.

He added that the discovered goods were seized as the continued fight against smuggling of prohibited goods intensified. The criminal syndicates continue to rise as the boxes containing the contraband were labelled and had names and phone numbers of the intended recipients, an indication that it was a well-planned group of transportation and delivery.

In a similar search, in September 2021 K9 Officer Happy Chadambuka, while on his patrol at Forbes main entrance recovered three (3) bales of second hand clothes with a street value of close to USD$6000 and 36 bags of dagga with a street value of

USD$ 28 822.67 through the assistance of a canine dog.

Mr Happy Chadambuka with Carlos

 

International Monetary Fund (IMF) is providing ZIMRA with technical assistance in Excise Management from 5-21 September 2022, virtually. IMF is one of the Authority’s development partners offering technical assistance programmes in various tax and customs fields ranging from Coordinated Border Management, Debt Management, Tax and Revenue Management Systems, Tax Audits, Authorised Economic Operators and Mirror Data among others.

The Excise Management mission is expected to capacitate ZIMRA with modern tools in collecting revenue from excisable products.

“Our excise has been largely outward looking as we have been collecting more revenue from fuel but we would like to perform better in other areas. We want to look at other digital tools that can be utilised to enhance our collection systems”, said the Commissioner General, Ms Regina Chinamasa during the opening session of the mission.

The mission will be facilitated by IMF Customs and Excise Experts Mr Janos Nagy and Ms Fanny Euran.

Excise duty is imposed for financial, public safety and health, public morals and environmental protection. ZIMRA collects Excise Duty from fuel, airtime, wines, beers and spirits, opaque beer powder, tobacco products and on used motor vehicles.

In the second quarter 2022, ZIMRA collections of Excise Duty exceeded target by 130.14% and contributed 13.05% to overall collections.

The biggest challenges in collection of Excise Duty is smuggling of fuel where fuel is declared as transit yet offloaded and used in Zimbabwe. In 2021, ZIMRA intercepted three transit fuel trucks at Chirundu One Stop Border Post, that were allegedly smuggling fuel into the country under the pretence that it was Zambia-bound, yet the fuel had been offloaded and containers filled with water - in the process prejudicing the country of potential revenue through organized crime.

Measures put in place by ZIMRA to curtail such smuggling activities include electronic cargo tracking systems and fuel testing for all transit vehicles that declares to carry fuel. The fuel testing uses water finder which is capable to detect if the product is real fuel or water. Such measures are expected to disarm all fuel smuggling syndicates that have been importing fuel into the country without paying any duties due.

ZIMRA receives capacity development from various development partners including World Customs Organisation (WCO), African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), OMESA, SADC, African Union, German Society for International Co-operation (GIZ) and UNDP, among others.

In a development which enhances ZIMRA’s ability to apprehend fuel smugglers, the Authority has launched an advanced mobile fuel testing system which has since apprehended a fuel smuggler at Chirundu Border Post.

The newly acquired fuel testing equipment comprises of hydrometers, measuring cylinders, dip sticks, dipping pastes and water pastes.

The equipment, which is capable of detecting the nature of the product being imported or exported by a transporter, is a game changer expected to curtail and disarm all fuel smuggling syndicates who have been bringing fuel into the country without paying any duties due.

The water paste detects presence of water in the product being tested while the hydrometers measure density to determine whether the product is petrol, diesel or paraffin.

On a test run which was done on the 10^th of November 2021 while launching the testing kit at Chirundu One Stop Border Post, the Authority detected a fuel tanker belonging to a transporter (name withheld) carrying water instead of the fuel declared at Forbes Border Post.

This was a clear case of transit fraud where the state was prejudiced of over a million dollars in revenue through decanting 39,754 litres of the fuel in Zimbabwe. The truck was seized and the case was reported at the ZRP Chirundu Station.

The Authority is in the process of conducting investigations on how the fuel was substituted with water. The investigations will include importers, transporters, Customs Clearing Agents and ZIMRA officials. The Authority will prosecute all parties who were involved in the smuggling syndicate.

ZIMRA has already started training its staff at all border posts to use the equipment in a bid to fight corruption. The authority has a zero tolerance for corruption and members of the public are urged to report corruption and resist bribes using ZIMRA’s hotline facilty, whistle blower facility or phone in.

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) Vice Chairperson, Mrs. Josephine Matambo, announced the appointment of Ms. Regina Chinamasa as the Acting Commissioner General effective February 1, 2022 following the retirement of Mr. Rameck Masaire whose retirement became effective at the end of January 2022.

“Currently Ms Chinamasa is the Commissioner for Revenue Assurance. She is credited for introducing various processes that are plugging revenue leakages through modern investigative and compliance systems, she also has vast experience in domestic taxes and customs and excise fields,” said Matambo in the board issued statement.

The new Acting Commissioner General started her career as a Tax Assessor in 1994 in the then Department of Taxes and joined the Investigation Division of ZIMRA at its inception in 2001.

She moved to Customs and Excise in 2011 as Head of Compliance and Risk Management. She was part of the team that introduced the authorised economic operators (AEOs) trade facilitation, post clearance audits among other innovations.

From 2014, she joined the Domestic Taxes Division and served in various leadership roles from Head level to Acting as Commissioner Domestic Taxes between 2016 and 2018.

Ms Chinamasa is a tax expert with over 28 years of diverse experience in the field of revenue mobilisation and enforcement of compliance to fiscal laws.

Communication personnel have the responsibility to liaise between tax administrations and taxpayers to communicate and improve the tax payment process. As link between tax administrations, the media and the citizens, the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) on August 30, 2021, engaged tax administrations communication personnel among ATAF member states to share experiences and strategies in order to improve tax communication whilst projecting the Forum’s image.

The ATAF Executive Secretary, Mr Logan Wort, emphasized the important role played by communications units within the administrations and encouraged them to formulate strategies that simplify tax information while making it increasingly convenient for taxpayers to comply with national tax laws.

“Your job as communications persons is to make citizens want to pay taxes and make them understand the need to pay taxes by educating them on how and why they should do so”, he said.

The half-day workshops shared communication experiences from different countries and mapped how ATAF can use these publicity opportunities to deliver important tax information whilst improving its image and the image of the local administrations.

With modernity and consequently the new normal, communication is fast fusing or even migrating from traditional media such as television and radio to instant and more effective social media platforms.

The African Tax Administration Forum offers technical assistance and capacity development to tax administrations, ZIMRA included with the objective of increasing domestic resource mobilization and improve development in Africa whilst supporting the continent’s voice in the international tax environment. 

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) Research and Development Section led by the Director Strategy, Research and Innovation, Mr Joey Shumbamhini embarked on a research to find out on the impact of South African riots for Zimbabwe and the Authority as a revenue collector.

The Section as the eye of the organisation, is responsible for providing powerful knowledge and insights that lead to the improvement of existing processes or services within the Authority. Members from the section dug up information on how the July 2021, riots in South Africa were going to are affect Zimbabwe in an effort to give the Authority a heads up for possible action.

According to the research the riots will have serious effects on the Zimbabwean economy and in particular, diaspora remittances, trade and revenue collections. Diaspora remittances have previously overtaken foreign aid and are very crucial to the economy. Most Zimbabweans living in South Africa, often send money back home. With the riots, some Zimbabweans in South Africa were left unemployed which will be difficult for them to send money back home resulting in low diaspora remittances. There is also likely to be reduced consumption on the local market affecting revenue heads such as Value Added Tax and Excise Duties.

Trade has also been equally affected since South Africa has over the years been Zimbabwe’s major trading partner for both imports and exports. Customs revenues are likely to experience a knock since the riots decreased imports from South Africa coming into Zimbabwe.

It was noted that at Beitbridge Border Post on a normal day ZIMRA was clearing about 500 and 450 incoming and outgoing commercial trucks respectively. However, since the eruption of the riots, the daily averages had gone down to 375 and 415 for incoming and outgoing commercial traffic respectively. South Africa has also been the route for transiting goods destined for other countries from Zimbabwe and hence the closure of roads, infrastructure disturbances and lootings at the Durban Port were not conducive importation of goods. All these have an impact on revenue collection, financials as well as the lives of the people in Zimbabwe.