Zimra throttles smugglers’ breathing space

Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) will with effect from tomorrow introduce tight import regulations that will minimise the smuggling of commercial cargo by syndicates working with freight forwarding companies.

It is understood that the country is losing millions of dollars in import revenue at the various port of entry due to intrusive leakages involving organised criminals.

In a statement (public notice 95 of 2021) today, Zimra said registered clearing agents would from October 1 be required to attach proof of payment on Bills of Entries form 21 or form 49.

A bill of entry is used to process the customs clearance of goods of commercial nature or bulky.

“This notice serves to inform all registered clearing agents involved in the clearance of commercial goods for consumption on bills of entry form 21 or form 49 on behalf of their clients from October 1, they are now required to attach verifiable proof of payment from the bank confirming that the funds to cover duties have been deposited into the Zimra bank account,” said Zimra in the statement.

“The transaction reference number shall be endorsed on Box 44 of the bill of entry. Failure to attach proof and endorsing the transaction number or reference will result in query notifications (F45) being raised requesting the same, and would be a violation of section 44 of the Customs and Excise Act.”

Of late there has been an increase in cases of freight forwarding companies being fingered in smuggling scams involving fake customs clearance documents.

This is common mostly on the imports of controlled commodities including fuel, washing powder, alcohol, and an assortment of groceries that fall out of the Open General Import License (OGIL).