Zimra surpasses revenue target

THE Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) is confident of surpassing the 2017 annual target as the robust revenue collection measures being implemented are bearing fruit, with net collections for August exceeding the target by 15 percent.

Zimra head of corporate communications Mr Canisio Mudzimu said during the period under review gross collections amounted to $338.29 million while refunds were at $30.35 million.

This, he said resulted in net collections of $307.95 million against a target of $267.66 million.

Net collections for the month increased by a phenomenal 20.59 percent from the $256.01 million that was collected during the same period last year.

“All major revenue heads — except for Individual Tax which slightly missed the target by 1.08 percent — surpassed the set targets for the month.

“Individual Tax, however, grew by 23.47 percent from August 2016 collections of $51.17 million,” he said.

“The sterling performance is mainly a result of automation initiatives, anti-corruption measures, skills realignment, improved supervision as well as riskbased audits that are being carried out by the authority.”

In addition, Mr Mudzimu said, Zimra was continuously following up on tax debts and negotiating with taxpayers for payment plans, as well as closely monitoring adherence to the agreed payment terms.

“Corporate Income Tax contributed $17.26 million against a target of $8.70 million. This translates to a positive variance of 98.44 percent. The positive performance of the revenue head can be attributed to enforcement projects that the authority is carrying out as well as improved profitability by some companies,” he said.

Mr Mudzimu said collections under Individual Tax amounted to $63.18 million against a target of $63.87 million. During the same period last year, collections under Individual Tax were $51.17 million, which translates to a 23.47 percent leap in collections this year, courtesy of intensified enforcement measures by the tax collector.

However, the revenue head’s performance continues to be affected by retrenchments, salary cuts and inconsistent salary payments by some companies.

The implementation of the electronic cargo tracking system is also substantially plugging loopholes for transit fraud, resulting in more declared fuel for the domestic market.

Gross customs duty revenue for August amounted to $28.66 million, while net collections were $28.64 million. Net collections were 23.43 percent above the target of $23.20 million and increased by 35.73 percent from the $21.10 million for the same period last year.

Going forward, Mr Mudzimu said Zimra would continue to intensify debt recovery measures and the control of the refund bill; as well as enhance automation — including e-services, invoice management and the electronic cargo tracking system.

It is anticipated that the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority’s fuel marking project will also assist in the detection of improperly imported fuel, which will in turn increase controls against transit fraud and recoveries from post-importation checks on fuel importers.

Zimra will also continue with its information dissemination programmes and the anti-corruption drive to safeguard revenue and curtail any underhand dealings. — @okazunga