THE Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) has exceeded its revenue collection target by 10,26%, generating ZWG116, 47 billion against a target of ZWG105,63 billion due to aggressive tax collection, its 2024 annual report has revealed.
Speaking at the release of the report on Monday, Kudakwashe Zata, who was representing Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion minister Mthuli Ncube, commended Zimra for its dedication to safeguarding the country's financial stability.
“I am pleased to note that Zmira has made commendable strides in fulfilling its broad mandate of revenue mobilisation, trade facilitation and compliance enhancement.
"Moving to celebrating milestones, among the most transformative milestones of the year has been the successful rollout of the Tax and Revenue Management System, TAMS.
“This flagship digital initiative has redefined service delivery, streamlined tax interactions and advanced our vision of a modern technology-driven revenue authority.”
He said the performance reflected the unwavering dedication of Zimra's management and staff to safeguarding the financial foundation of the country.
Zimra commissioner-general Regina Chinamasa attributed the success to the authority's strategies, including expanding the tax base and implementing new initiatives.
According to Zimra's 2024 annual report, value added tax contributed the most to revenue generation, recording 31,21%, followed by pay-as-you-earn (19,38%). The remainder came from other taxes.
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“So, in terms of actual results, I will give a high-level presentation. We managed to collect revenue of ZWG116,47 billion and we surpassed the target by 10,26%. We also collected additional revenue from new registrations.
So we collected revenue of ZWG951,34 million in new revenue streams. Revenue growth was 47,65% in real terms and 65,43% in nominal terms. The cost of collection was 2,03%,” Chinamasa said.
To combat tax evasion and smuggling, Zimra introduced the e-tariff system, enhanced its canine unit and implemented a drug surveillance system at Beitbridge Border Post, resulting in 255 interceptions in 2024. Revenue collection at the border post increased by 5,91%.
“We are happy to report that we introduced the e-tariff, which offers easy access for commodity classification and duty estimation. This is a response to the crime committed by the importing and exporting community, where they were not sure, and they also demanded transparency in terms of the expectations on duty and classification,” Chinamasa said.
“We also implemented an initiative where we are exchanging data with our counterparts across the borders to ensure seamless and fair trade across borders.
“The authorised economic operator initiative was further enhanced and we onboarded other compliant businesses to ensure they get value for money processing at the ports of entry.”
Chinamasa said Zimra had also improved its canine unit, which was supporting the identification of drugs.
“I think currently we have a drug scourge in the country and we are also one of the agencies responsible for ensuring that we mitigate the entry of these substances to the country.
“On other smuggling initiatives, we implemented the drug surveillance system at Beitbridge Border Post, and we are happy that in 2024, we managed to have 255 interceptions. In terms of revenue generated at the Beitbridge Border Post, there was an increase in collections by 5,91%,” she said.
Zimra board chairperson, Anthony Mandiwanza, highlighted the importance of collaboration with other government agencies in expanding the tax base and enforcing compliance, adding that the authority was exploring a rapid results approach to mobilise revenue targets from specific sub-sectors.
“I am pleased to say that in collaboration with local authorities, Zimra is extracting and utilising relevant data to expand the tax base through enhanced registration and segmentation of target groups,” he said.
“This approach supports the rapid results framework and reflects the authorities' commitment to broadening compliance coverage.”
