This article covers the Voluntary Disclosure programme that is running until December 2018 in as far as it refers to offences relating to the Customs and Excise provisions. ZIMRA has recorded a number of various offences under Customs and Excise. Based on this background, the Authority is encouraging any individuals who either have knowingly or unwittingly committed or omitted acts that are against the provisions of the Customs and Excise Act to voluntarily disclose such acts.

 Common Offences under the Customs and Excise Act

 

Wrong application of Customs Procedure Code (CPC)

Customs Procedure Codes are designed to enable importers to distinguish their importations for purposes of benefiting from specific rebates or duty waivers and suspensions. For example, if goods were entered for home use by the government, they would use the full CPC 4000 403 whilst if goods were re-imported after previous temporary exportation for repair under guarantee they would use the full CPC 6021 602. The effect of both CPCs would be to suppress customs duty. Incorrectly applying a CPC can lead to an irregularity that can lead to underpayment of duty. This can be formalised by way of utilizing the Voluntary Disclosure facility. Where a disclosure is made in respect of such irregularities any duties that should have been paid at the time of entry become payable whilst there will not be any penalties raised and payable. Interest due on the duties will however be payable.

 

Undervaluation of goods

There can be cases of importations that were made using values that are less than the price actually paid or payable for the goods. Some of the instances include importations made using false invoices or making false representations and forgery that lowers the values of the imported goods. Whilst these are serious commissions, ZIMRA will waive penalties that would be payable if the importer has disclosed the transactions voluntarily. Interest and additional duties will however be collected. Importers who voluntarily disclose transactions involving these acts of non-compliance will not be subjected to any scrutiny as a result of the disclosure.

 

Incorrect Tariff Classification

Importers may have knowingly or unknowingly used incorrect tariff classifications resulting in underpayment of duties. Such underpayments can be regularised through using the voluntary disclosure programme. Any fines which would have been payable due to the incorrect tariff classification will be dispensed of and only the duty and interest on the duty will be payable.

 

Other Offences

Other offences include undue claim of preferential treatment where the origin of goods is falsified, production of illicit alcoholic beverages that are subject to excise duty, smuggling where ZIMRA has no record of the importations, warehousing irregularities including Excise manufacturer’s understatements of production figures, etc. All these irregularities qualify for waiver of penalties if the importers and Excise Manufacturers voluntarily disclosure subject transactions.

 

Disclaimer

This article was compiled by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority for information purposes only. ZIMRA shall not accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from use of material in this article and no liability will attach to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority.

 

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My taxes, my duties – building my Zimbabwe!

Registered Occupational/Industrial Psychologist

M.Sc. in Occupational Psychology University of Zimbabwe (2005)

Post Graduate Diploma in Occupational Psychology University of Zimbabwe (2001)

B.Sc. (Psychology) Honours - Upper Second Class (2.1) University of Zimbabwe (1996)

Diploma in Labour Relations IMPZ (1996)

 

CURRENT BOARD APPOINTMENTS AND EXPERIENCE 

1. Non-Executive Director – Schweppes Zimbabwe- July 2015 to date
2. Board Member(Part-time) – Health Services Board – July 2018 to date
3. Non- Executive Director – Zimbabwe Revenue Authority January 2019 to date

EXPERIENCE RECORD

1. Industrial Psychology Consultants (Pvt) Ltd (March 2004 to date) Managing Consultant
2. Rapid Financial Holdings, Zimbabwe (Dec 2002 to Feb 2004)

Group Human Resources Manager

3. Ernst & Young, Harare, Zimbabwe (July 2001 to Nov 2002)

Senior Human Resources Consultant

4. Ernst & Young, Harare, Zimbabwe (1999 - June 2001)

Human Resources Consultant

5. B H P Minerals Zimbabwe, Selous, Zimbabwe (1997 – 1999)

(Graduate Learner/Human Resources Officer)

6. Turnall Fibre Cement (Pvt) Ltd, Harare, Zimbabwe (1997)

(Personnel Assistant)

 

SUMMARY OF KEY HANDS ON EXPERIENCE (21 years of experience)

Memory has extensive experience in strategic planning and human resources management in both line function and consultancy services. He has assisted clients in the private, state enterprises and NGO sectors in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Botswana, Mozambique, amongst others. He is currently focusing on helping clients:

• Develop robust business strategies that can help them remain competitive in a dynamic operating environment
• Identify the best talent for current and future positions
• Measure productivity and develop productivity enhancement mechanisms 
• Analyse human resources data and use the same data to predict company performance
• Design workforce plans that survive economic cycles (downturn and upturns)
• With the assistance of statistical models use historical human resources data in the client organisation to predict which employees will succeed and fail, which employees are likely to leave the organisation, which employees are likely to commit disciplinary offences, which employees are likely to behave unethically, which employees are prone to accidents, which human resources process drive revenue growth and customer satisfaction. He assists the same clients come up with sustainable interventions to mitigate identified risks.
• Lay the foundation for building productive work teams using such methods as the MBTI and Team Climate Inventory
• Develop training programs for clients and assess the effectiveness of these programs in assisting client organisations succeed

Josephine Tsitsi Matambo is a Tax Partner at PKF Chartered Accountants (Zimbabwe). She holds a Bachelor of Accountancy Degree (University of Zimbabwe), a Masters in Business Administration Degree (University of Zimbabwe) and a Tax Administration Certificate (Royal Institute of Public Administration - UK) among other professional and tertiary qualifications. She is registered as a tax accountant with the Public Accountants and Auditors Board (PAAB) Zimbabwe and is a fellow member of the Institute of Certified Tax Accountants (ICTA) Zimbabwe.

Josephine has an illustrious tax career that started with the Government of Zimbabwe’s Tax Department in 1981, soon after Zimbabwe gained its independence. She rose through the ranks to Assistant Commissioner of Taxes until she joined the private sector as a tax consultant in 1995. Her tax career took her to Maputo, Mozambique in 2003 where she practised for four and a half years, after which she practised in Luanda, Angola for three years. She re-joined the local private sector in 2012. In all these years of Practice, she held senior positions in three of the Big Four audit firms. 

She is one of the two local consultants engaged by the Government of Zimbabwe in 1998 to be part of the consultancy team to study the possibility of introducing a VAT system in Zimbabwe and to participate in drafting the recommended VAT law in Zimbabwe.

Josephine has more than 37 years of tax experience which spans across various sectors in Zimbabwe, Angola and Mozambique; 13 of these years include experience in the Tax Department in Zimbabwe (now ZIMRA). She is an Independent non-executive director at True Destinations Investments (Pvt) Ltd.