THE Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) has registered 12 992 small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) for value-added tax (VAT) under a moratorium, that expired last month, acting board secretary, Ropafadzai Majaja, has said.
BY MTHANDAZO NYONI
Majaja told NewsDay in emailed responses that their intensive outreach and registration exercise in all the provinces to promote the registration of SMEs under the moratorium, was successful.
“A total of 12 992 clients were registered by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority under the moratorium, which expired on June 30, 2017,” she said.
In a bid to encourage SMEs, who were reluctant to register for VAT due to the massive backdated taxes and penalties that they were likely to incur upon registration, Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa in the 2017 budget statement, proposed to waive the requirement to account for output tax from the deemed date of qualification for registration.
He gave a six-month moratorium on VAT registration for SMEs that qualify on account of their gross turnover exceeding the threshold of $60 000 per annum.
The incentive also applied to SMEs whose turnover does not exceed $240 000 per annum to voluntarily register for VAT with Zimra.
On the fiscalisation project, Majaja said they received considerable support in rolling out the programme from the Finance and Economic Development ministry, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the business sector, approved suppliers and VAT registered operators.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“Fiscalisation is impacting positively on compliance levels and revenue collections.
Zimra has also procured some fiscal devices for sale to clients as a way of boosting supplies of the gadgets and to make the devices more affordable for the success of the fiscalisation programme,” she said. Majaja said the number of gadgets procured by Zimra were sufficient to give additional momentum to the fiscalisation programme.
The government has also provided tax concessions on the acquisition and distribution of fiscal devices, which enable clients, who acquire fiscal gadgets to recoup the full cost of acquisition, she said.
Majaja said VAT registered operators can claim 50% of the cost of acquiring the devices as input tax on their VAT returns and the balance was claimable as special initial allowance in terms of the Income Tax Act [Chapter 23:06].
“In addition, no customs duty or VAT is payable on the importation of fiscal devices, and no VAT is charged on the sale of the gadgets on the local market,” she said.
