By Zivanai Dhewa
The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA)’s five year strategy (2019-2023) which was aligned with the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) set to come to an end in December 2020, has made a significant impact toward advancing Government’s achievement of vision 2030, through supporting pillars such as the restoration of the Fiscal Balance, Plugging revenue leakages and Ease of doing business among others.
In a Revenue Performance Report for the Second Quarter ended 30 June 2020, indications are that revenue collections maintained a positive trajectory in a nominal term despite the adverse operating environment that has been exacerbated by the Covid19 pandemic.
“The net revenue collections during the second quarter of 2020 surpassed the target of ZWL$14.09billion, to reach ZWL$20.11 billion, which translates to a 42.75% positive variance.
“Net revenue collections grew by 542.24% in nominal terms from ZWL$3.13billion that was realised in the same period in 2019,” read the report.
The report further states that the Authority will continue to plug revenue leakages through intensification of its anti-smuggling effort.
“The Authority remains committed to plugging revenue leakages through intensified anti-smuggling efforts and increased risk based audits.
“It has further implemented the Risk based compliance checks on specific business sectors and specific revenue heads. Desk follow ups on payments and returns were made on IMTT, VAT, CIT, Presumptive Tax, VAT Withholding Tax and Mining Royalties.
“A specialised debt management team is now in place to ensure effective debt recoveries, while Risk management was intensified to curb false declaration of values, quantities, origins and tariff of imported goods and products,” read the report.
Meanwhile the Covid19 induced economic challenges have not spared the Authority as it continues to operate with skeletal staff in line with WHO Covid19 regulations that require social distancing. However, ZIMRA continues to exploit its ICT technologies to minimize disruption of business and ensure that tax payers fulfil their tax obligations conveniently.
