Government is losing millions of dollars in potential revenue to syndicates abusing the immigrants’ rebate facility (Returning Resident) to import vehicles duty free at Beitbridge Border Post and other ports of entry.
Statistics from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) show that so far 17 cases were intercepted between December 2017 and April this year. 3 256 cars were imported under the Immigrant Rebate facility via Beitbridge border post in 2017.
In an interview with The Chronicle yesterday, Zimra acting head of communication Mr Taungana Ndoro confirmed the developments and said:
From 01 December 2017 to date, 17 cases have been intercepted for abuse of Returning Residents facility (Immigrants rebate). Some of the methods used by such people to clandestinely import the motor vehicles include situations where clients are being used to declare motor vehicles, which do not belong to them. In such cases agents buy cars and pay clients to declare the vehicles under Immigrants rebate. In addition, we also encounter clients who would have been granted immigrants rebate within the last four years trying to import another vehicle.
More: Chronicle
Zimbabwe will never get rich as long as these government arms antagonize citizens trying to ake a living by bringing back home their foreign riches earned from hard work and sweat. Other African countries allow their foreign based citizens to bring back home ad much gadgets and properties secured abroad as long as similar items are not produced locally. That’s how wealth is created, by allowing excess capital to flow in the system thereby reducing demand for such items, which in turn lowers prices of commodities all round…simple but logical economics….
why did Mr Taungana Ndoro not mention Zimra officials as part of the syndicates as everbody in Beitbridge knows that. The amount given to a zimra official depends on the duty which was supposed to be paid for the vehicle eg Honda Fit bribe to conduct a purported successful interview of a returning res is $200 to $300. The 17 cases they have is for genuine returning residence with some minor queries who refused to part with bribe money so they get sacrified to cover corruption.