GMB invests $500 000 in Electronic Tax Registers

Under the country’s new tax regulations, enterprises with an annual turnover of $240 000 are compelled to install the tax registers as a way of accounting for Value Added Tax (VAT).

ETRs record sales at the point of sale as each register is fixed with a memory card that records fiscal data used by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) to collect taxes.

The Grain Marketing Board (GMB) general manager Mr Albert Mandizha told Business Chronicle at the just-ended Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in Bulawayo that his organisation had started installing the gadgets at their depots in line with the Government directive.

“We have invested $500 000 in installing fiscalised devices at all our 84 depots in the country.

“As we speak, most of our depots have now been fiscalised and comply with the current VAT legislation,” he said.

Mr Mandizha said since the introduction of a multi-currency system, the parastatal was moving from being a loss making entity to a loss reduction enterprise through the adoption of a Corporate Governance Framework adopted by Government on all the 78 State enterprises and parastatals.

“We have also adopted the corporate governance code to ensure effective management of GMB. As a result of sound corporate governance, the entity is now beginning to realise profitability. For example, our loss position as per audited financial statement improved from $18 million for the year ended 31 March 2010 to $6,2 million for the year ended 31 March 2011.

“And for the financial year ended 31 March 2012, we realised a reduced loss of $1,5 million,” he said.

He said GMB had since 2009 managed to pay 800 managerial and non-managerial employees that went on voluntary retrenchment as the organisation was downsizing its workforce from 3 000 as a strategy to cut down costs and promote improved operational performance.

The parastatal aims to reduce its staffing levels to 1 300 permanent employees through a combination of organisational restructuring and voluntary retrenchment by the end of the 2012/13 financial year.

GMB envisages that staff reduction would result in staff costs to income ratio being reduced and maintained at a sustainable level of 30 percent from the previous average of 60 percent.

This will release the much-needed resources to more productive sectors.