ZEP returnees can import one car duty-free under Zimbabwe rebate

ZEP returnees can import one car duty-free under Zimbabwe rebate

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Zimbabweans returning home following renewed xenophobic attacks in South Africa will be allowed to bring personal effects, household goods and one vehicle into the country under an immigrants’ rebate that waives customs duty.

The measures are contained in a letter written by George Guvamatanga, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, to Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) commissioner-general Regina Chinamasa.

In the letter, Guvamatanga said the facility would cover “only one motor vehicle imported by a Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) holder”. He added that vehicles would be “cleared under suspension of duty, whereby VAT would remain payable”, and that ZIMRA would apply “flexible valuation terms to ensure that the VAT payable on the vehicles would be minimal”.

According to the same correspondence, no permits will be required for vehicles more than 10 years old. However, the exemption is limited to vehicles purchased before the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit expired in December 2022.

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The rebate also extends to household property and certain commercial items. “Rebate of duty would apply on personal and household property, as well as property of a commercial nature, which presumably the returnees would have been using in their businesses,” reads the letter.

Guvamatanga stated that the exempted property must have been bought “prior to the expiry of the ZEPs, that is, prior to 31 December 2022”. He also said authorities would allow flexibility on the time of arrival “in order to accord residents who returned by December 2022 ample time to clear their goods”.

He stressed that safeguards would be introduced to prevent misuse of the facility. “This is subject to the appropriate evaluation in order to limit potential abuse of the facility by non-qualifying returning residents. Furthermore, the facility will not apply to new items,” the letter states.

For motor vehicles, Guvamatanga noted that returnees must meet standard immigrants’ conditions, including prior ownership of the vehicle.

The rebate is expected to affect Zimbabweans returning to provinces including Mashonaland Central, where many families have relatives who previously lived and worked in South Africa under the ZEP arrangement.

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