Treasury fine tunes measures on basic food items

TREASURY has fine-tuned some of the measures introduced through the 2024 National Budget, with basic food items such as bread, milk, cooking oil, and maize meal, exempted from Value Added Tax, eliminating the fears of price increases that had gripped consumers.

Other basic commodities such as meat, rice, bath and laundry soap, washing powder, toothpaste and petroleum jelly have been moved to standard rating, which means price increases should be minimal.

The measures were announced last night by Finance, Economic

Development and Investment Promotion Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, following concerns that they could have unintended consequences.

Prof Ncube said the measures have been taken after Treasury constituted a technical committee to receive input from representative members under the umbrella body of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries.

The committee undertook an impact analysis on the implementation of some of the measures introduced through the 2024 Budget, in particular with regards to tax compliance en route to the market, mitigation of consequences of the sugar on health through a special surtax, and a few tariff lines omitted on exemption from Value Added Tax, in order to cover the whole value chain that includes cotton and soya seeds to cooking oil.

Prof Ncube said the findings of the technical committee have since been presented, hence the decision by Treasury to fine-tune the measures enshrined in the Finance Act and subsidiary legislation.

Retailers are now able to buy straight from manufacturers as long as they have obtained a valid tax clearance certificate and are VAT registered.