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Business Reporter
TREASURY has directed the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority to automatically forfeit all smuggled goods to the State with “no option to pay duty,” in a significant toughening of the anti-smuggling campaign.
In a directive dated November 12, 2025, Permanent Secretary for Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Mr George Guvamatanga, ordered that where the value of smuggled goods exceeds the payable duty, they must be seized permanently.
The move removes the previous discretion that sometimes allowed importers to settle their customs duty bills and reclaim confiscated items.
The directive cites Sections 188 and 193 of the Customs and Excise Act, which provide for the seizure of illegal goods and the vehicles used to transport them.
“Whilst Treasury appreciates the progress made so far on the anti-smuggling campaign, there is a need for the Authority to increase public awareness campaigns on the dangers of smuggling and the consequences thereof,” Mr Guvamatanga stated.
This forceful stance from the Treasury was later underscored by ZIMRA Commissioner General, Ms Regina Chinamasa.
In a separate communication, she confirmed that the Government has “promulgated legislation declaring all imported goods without clearance papers as deemed smuggled.”
Ms Chinamasa also defended ZIMRA’s enforcement strategy, including the use of roadblocks on major traffic corridors, as a necessary measure against non-compliance.
“Enforcement and roadblocks are a mitigation to the noncompliance,” she said. “Our detection rate is still too high, hence the continued enforcement in collaboration with other government stakeholders.”
She specified that ZIMRA maintains a presence on key routes such as Beitbridge to Bulawayo and Victoria Falls, Beitbridge to Harare and Chirundu, Plumtree to Harare, and Forbes to Harare, despite some not being official border posts.
“Gwanda is not a border post, but ZIMRA has a footprint along the traffic corridors to ensure effective enforcement of fiscal laws,” Ms Chinamasa clarified, emphasising that importers are expected to declare goods and pay duties at the borders.
The combined communications from the Treasury and ZIMRA signal a hardened, zero-tolerance government approach to smuggling, with the new automatic forfeiture rule representing a major financial risk for those caught flouting customs laws.
