Zimra bars non-fiscalised businesses from tax certification

THE Zimbabwe Revenue Authority is barring all non fiscalised businesses from accessing tax clearance certificates as it forges ahead to increase tax revenue collections.

Zimra head of corporate communications Mr Canisio Mudzimu said the law requires all Value Added Tax (VAT) registered operators, whether local or foreign-owned, to acquire, install and connect fiscal devices to the Zimra servers.

“In terms of Statutory Instrument (SI) 148 of 2016 and SI 153 of 2011, failure by VAT registered operators to acquire and install fiscal devices attracts penalties at the rate of $25 per day per each point of sale, up to a maximum period of 181 days. In addition to levying the penalties for non-compliance, all clients who failed to comply with fiscalisation requirements could not access the 2018 Tax Clearance Certificates (ITF263) as a way of encouraging compliance,” said Mr Mudzimu.

The Government introduced the electronic fiscalised cash registers and fiscal memory devices with the objective to plug leakages in VAT payment.

Fiscalisation is a computerised systemisation of cash register devices to enable them to record in, real-time, sales and other tax information for use by the tax authorities in VAT administration.

Since the introduction of the fiscalisation, Zimra has been working on progress to improve the implementation of the system by businesses.

The system also entailed that businesses in VAT categories A, B and D should have fiscalised their operations by December 2016.

Categories A and B are those registered operators who are submitting returns after every two months while category D clients submit returns on a seasonal basis, or as agreed with the commissioner-general.

Companies that fall in category C are those with an annual turnover of $240 000.

“The uptake of the fiscalisation programme is encouraging and I can confirm that the number of clients who are acquiring and installing fiscal devices is increasing steadily,” said Mr Mudzimu.

He, however, said the prevailing foreign currency shortage in the country was hampering the importation of fiscal devices by the recommended suppliers. Last year Government identified nine suppliers of fiscalisation machines including Zimra.

“Suppliers of fiscal devices are facing challenges with regards to the availability of foreign currency to import the fiscal gadgets and this limits the number of gadgets that can be imported and availed to VAT registered clients.

“The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has, however, been assisting wherever possible by availing the foreign currency, although the amount is not enough to cover the requirements.

“As you are aware, Zimra has also intervened as a supplier of fiscal devices and the authority is selling the gadgets at affordable prices as a way of accelerating the implementation of the fiscalisation programme,” said Mr Mudzimu.

Zimra is selling electronic cash registers for $350 and the electronic fiscal printers for $500.