High Court Says It’s Lawful For Zimra To Seize Assets That It Had Cleared Before

High Court judge Justice Joseph Mafusire has ruled that the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) is entitled to seize goods which it had previously cleared if it discovers that the owner cheated the system.  Justice Mafusire made the ruling in a case where three parties whose vehicles had been cleared by Zimra and were later discovered to have been undervalued challenged Zimra’s decision to demand more money for duty.

The three, Main Road Motors, Sylvia Choruwa and Patrick Muguti had argued that Zimra’s attempt to seize their cars was unlawful as it violated their constitutional right to property. However, Justice Mafusire dismissed the trio’s case because they had exceeded the statute of limitations. Justice Mafusire also said Zimra’s actions were lawful and did not violate the applicant’s constitutional rights. The court also agreed with Zimra who said that the applicants had approached the court with “dirty hands” because they were supposed to pay first and argue later.