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Exporting and Importing documents and procedures for Zimbabwe

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Exporting and Importing documents and procedures for Zimbabwe

The earlies evidence of recorded human trade is believed to have taken place around 17,000 BCC in New Guinea, when obsidian and flint was exchanged. It was the direct result of people exchanging goods and services from each other in a gift economy.

As nations grew and trade evolved importing and exporting became a necessary tool in the transfer of goods or services from one person or entity to another in exchange for money.

What is importing and exporting?

Exporting is defined as the sale of products and services in foreign countries that are sourced or made in the home country. Importing is the flipside of exporting. Importing refers to buying goods and services from foreign sources and bringing them back into the home country.

To regulate this flow of goods countries have designed laws and procedures related to the import and export of various traded goods. Zimbabwe is no different.

To say that importing and exporting is a time consuming, complicated and often expensive process best left to the professionals, is an understatement.

In this post we have compiled a by no means exhaustive list of relevant documentation, basic customs procedures, customs laws and customs administration and processes require for importing and exporting products to Zimbabwe. We trust you will find this beneficial.

Zimbabwe - Customs and duties

ZIMRA (The Customs and Excise Department of the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority) is the body responsible for collecting taxes and other revenue streams for the government in Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, which derives its mandate from the Revenue Authority Act [Chapter 23:11] and other subsidiary legislation, is responsible for assessing, collecting and accounting for revenue on behalf of the State through the Ministry of Finance, relating to

  • Customs Duty – levied on imported goods in terms the Customs and Excise Act
  • Excise Duty – levied on specified locally manufactured goods

Please note: The applicable rates of duty depend on the category of goods.

  • Value added tax
  • Surtax – levied on imported vehicles older than five years

In general, the government charges higher import duties on finished goods than on raw materials and intermediate goods, as a means of assisting the country’s manufacturing sector.

Duty may also be reduced or waived where the following circumstances exist:

  • Suspensions
  • Rebates
  • Bilateral and multilateral agreements
  • Remissions

Zimbabwe uses the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) method of customs valuation. Imports are subject to duty, import tax, and surtax. Capital goods are exempt from all three. Duties mostly range between 15% and 20% but can go as high as 60%. The surtax is 10% and sales tax is charged the importer as the end-user. The customs duty for textiles is 5% and the duty for clothes is 15%.

Zimbabwe is a member of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC), which was formed to promote "regional integration," and the 22-nation Preferential Trade Area (PTA) of Eastern and Southern Africa, which provides reduced duties on trade between member countries.

As an importer or exported it is your responsibility to make sure that you have all of the correct import documents that are required to get clear the customs formalities, satisfy all compliance and regulations.

Import license and import permits  

Import licenses are issued by the Ministry of Trade and Commerce. These are required to import specific products into Zimbabwe, mainly non-agricultural products.

Import permits are mainly issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and such permits are typically for agricultural products. However, in some cases, depending on the nature of the product, import permits may be issued by other government departments or institutions.

It is important to know whether your product requires a permit or license or if it needs both. Your import agent will be in the best position to advise you.

REQUIREMENTS FOR AN APPLICATION FOR IMPORT/EXPORT LICENSE

  • An application letter addressed to the Secretary for Industry and Commerce stating the following:
  • Product Description
  • Quantity of Product
  • Country of origin/ Destination country of product
  • Intended use (reason for importing or exporting the product)
  • Purchase price per unit of the product
  • Total value of the consignment
  • Selling price of the product
  • Attach copies of the following documents:
    • CR14
    • Tax clearance
    • Certificate of incorporation
    • Receipt for Standard Development Fund Levy
    • For imports – Proforma Invoice from the source

NB: The applications should be separate for different products.

Zimbabwe - Import Requirements and Documentation

Most of Zimbabwe’s imports are brought in through an open general import license (OGIL) and do not require special import licenses or permits.  For products that require import licenses, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce administers the licensing process.

Importers are encouraged to engage the services of professional clearing agents because of the complexities of the valuation system and the Harmonised System of classification of goods. The following documents are required when clearing commercial importations:

  • Bill of Entry (Form 21)
  • Suppliers’ invoices
  • Export or Transit Bill of Entry from the country of export (where applicable)
  • Value Declaration Forms.
  • Consignment notes, for instance Rail Advice Notes or Air Way Bill (AWB) or Bill of Lading
  • Freight statements
  • Cargo manifests
  • Insurance Statement
  • Certificates of Origin where preference is claimed
  • Port charges invoices (where applicable)
  • Original permits
  • Licences, Duty Free Certificates, Rebate Letters, Value Rulings (where applicable)
  • Agent / Importer’s Worksheet

*N.B. Copy of Tax Clearance Certificate (ITF 263) should also be attached.

Imports Administration

Foreign Payments

Importers of goods and services are allowed to effect foreign payments, through their Authorized Dealers (Banks), without seeking prior Exchange Control approval from Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. After effecting payments, importers have a grace period of up to 90 days to receive goods and services paid for.

International Payment Methods and Funds Transfers

Acceptable payment methods are open account, advance payments, letters of credit, documentary collections and on consignment. Acceptable funds transfer mechanisms for foreign payments are telegraphic transfers, international cards, money transfers and others authorized by Reserve Bank Exchange Control.

Registration of Importers

All importing companies must be registered with the Reserve Bank before they can effect payments through their Authorized Dealers. The import registration forms are available on the website.

Registration of Importers (LINK PDF)

What can be imported

Prohibited

  • Narcotics
  • Pornography (please consider the term as used under the Islamic law)
  • Counterfeit items
  • Cultural artefacts and other objects of cultural importance
  • Henna
  • Palm tree and any products thereof
  • Explosive material

Restricted

  • Live animals – health certificate required along with complete and valid inoculations. Contact nearest embassy to obtain permission
  • Endangered species and any products or parts thereof as outlined by CITES maybe be brought in only with CITES permission.
  • Medication
  • Hunting weapons permissible only with authorisation obtainable from Ministry of Interior. Contact nearest embassy for more information (see Contact tab)

Clearance Procedure

The following procedure applies to goods imported for commercial purposes by any individual or organisation. Clearance of such importations is done by a Bill of Entry which is processed in the ASYCUDA system, together with supporting documents. The importer should have a Business Partner Number which is activated for Customs purposes.

Importers are encouraged to engage the services of professional clearing agents because of the complexities of the valuation system and the Harmonised System of classification of goods

Payments of duty may be done in the following manner:

  • Cash payments at the Cash Office
  • RTGs processed through the banks
  • Ecocash payment.
  • Swipe

Submission documents and Clearance of Goods

  • A Bill of Entry (Form 21) is lodged through the ASYCUDA World system. This is an internet based system where clearing agents and registered companies submit their clearance documents electronically. All the supporting documents should be scanned and submitted as attachments online (in ASYCUDA) together with the bill of entry.
  • If importer has no tax clearance certificate (ITF 263) Informal Cross Border Trader's Tax of 10% of the value for duty purposes will be due and payable together with any duties and other charges which may be due before goods can be released by ZIMRA.
  • Payments of duty are done by way of bank deposits into the ZIMRA account. The deposited amount will be credited to the agent's or importer's account with ZIMRA.
  • Documents are processed, assessed and if correct a Delivery Release Order is issued authorising the collection of goods from the carrier or detention. If there is need to inspect the goods, an Examination Order is issued and an inspection carried out to verify the quantities, classification, origin, values or any aspect that needs clarification.
  • After assessment, two sets of documents in hard copies must be submitted for final release of the goods.

Calculation of Duty

Duty is calculated on the basis of Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) value of the imported goods up to the point of entry into Zimbabwe in accordance with the “Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (World Trade Organization (W.T.O) Valuation Agreement)” which specifies international valuation methods, and is provided by Sections 104 – 113 of the Customs and Excise Act [Chapter 23:02].

Insurance and Freight inside Zimbabwe is excluded from the Value for Duty Purposes (VDP). The CIF value of the imported goods is an aggregate of the cost of goods, insurance, freight and any other charges incurred outside Zimbabwe.

NB: Proof of all these charges must be produced.

It is important to note that all exports require a customs declaration form (CD1) to ensure that exporters remit proceeds back to the country within 90 days.

 Exports

Documentation has to be done by either a registered importer or a registered clearing agent. No duties are payable on export but clearance fees will be due and payable.

A Bill of Entry (Form 21) is lodged through the ASYCUDA World system same as for imports with the following supporting documents attached electronically to the entry:

  • Exchange Control CD1 forms which are obtained from  commercial banks
  • Suppliers’ invoices
  • Consignment notes

Copies of Export Permits/Licences (where applicable)

Next steps

FAMS International can advise you on doing business in Zimbabwe, and help put you in touch with other people who can help such as lawyers and distributors.

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