Bernard Mutambudzi.

Zimbabwe Revenue Authority has thanked the public for the cooperation it is offering in enforcing tax compliance saying they recovered $31 million from 36 hotlines and 84 intelligence cases, the Harare Post has learnt.

Speaking at the 2nd Annual General meeting held a local hotel, ZIMRA Commissioner General, Ms Faith Mazani said ZIMRA was working on various debt recovery plans, chief among them, tax payer Master data clean up, whistle blowing, hotline, post clearance audits, border patrol and electronic cargo  tracking.

She said the Authority had also introduced statutory inspections on State warehouse, bonded warehouses, private siding and IPR warehouses to unplug revenue leakages.

"ZIMRA embraced the need for tax reforms which are necessary for attaining Zimbabwe's vision 2030," said Mazani.

She said her organisation was also pursuing a policy shift from enforcement tactics to a strategy for sustainable voluntary compliance that builds on effective taxpayer education with targeted facilitation activities.

“A new 5 year strategic plan for the Authority running from 2019 -2023 has been put in place and will guide the strategic focus and interventions," said Mazani.

ZIMRA Board Chairperson, Callisto Jokonya said ZIMRA instituted a cocktail of measures to enhance revenue collection, promote tax compliance, improve operational efficiency and ensure convenience to the tax payer.

“We have stepped up efforts by broadening the tax base, fighting corruption, managing the tax debt and automate and modernise the organization," he said.

ZIMRA derives its mandate from the Revenue Authority Act (Chapter 23:11) and other subsidiary legislation.

Its mandate is to collect revenue, facilitate trade and travel, advice Government on fiscal and economic matters and protect civil society.