adminCertain goods belonging to a deceased person who has been resident outside Zimbabwe can be brought into the country duty free as per the Customs and Excise Act Chapter 23:02 Section 120 as read with the Customs and Excise (General) Regulations Statutory Instrument 154 of 2001 Section 130 which provides that any rebate of duty shall be granted subject to such conditions or other requirements approved by the Minister and/or the Commissioner.
What is an inheritance rebate?
An inheritance rebate is a waiver of the duty payable on inherited goods imported from outside Zimbabwe.
Who is entitled to the inheritance rebate?
Persons residing in Zimbabwe who have inherited goods, upon the death of a person, as a result of a bequest made by the deceased or as a result of intestacy of that person.
Definitions
Bequest: property inherited by way of a will.
Intestacy: property inherited outside a will of the deceased or where there is no will at all.
On what goods?
Used personal and household goods.
One motor vehicle or one motorcycle.
Conditions for
granting the rebate:
A certified copy of the death certificate should be produced.
In case of a bequest, the importer should give proof of the bequest in the form of an officially or notarially certified copy of the will.
In case of an intestacy, the importer should give proof by way of a certificate issued by an official of a duly-constituted court of the country where the deceased died and which lists the property as being that of the deceased.
In both cases mentioned above, the importer should give a certificate to the effect that the goods are for his/her own use and that the goods will not be sold or otherwise disposed of by him/her within 12 months of the date of their importation.
No persons to whom this rebate of duty has been granted shall sell, offer to sell, lease, hire, lend, pledge or dispose of, in any manner whatsoever, these goods within 12 months of the date of entry under rebate without prior permission from the Commissioner.
The rebate shall not
apply to the following:
Vehicles designed for transportation of 15 or more people including the driver.
Vehicles whose gross weight exceeds five tonnes.
New and unused goods.
Please note that if one person is entitled to more than one vehicle, it means that only one vehicle would qualify under the inheritance rebate and the rest would attract customs duty at the applicable rates.
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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Bongani Ndlovu