Cabinet Orders Review of Licences, Permits And Fees Across Key Sectors

The Cabinet on Tuesday, 31 March, approved a wide‑ranging review of licences, permits, levies and fees.

Speaking at a post‑Cabinet briefing, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Zhemu Soda said the reforms will target duplicated and overlapping regulatory charges.

The aim is to scrap unnecessary levies and cut unjustifiably high fees, particularly in the financial services, manufacturing and health sectors. He said:

“Cabinet approved the streamlining of duplicated and overlapping regulatory licences and permits, removed unnecessary levies and fees and lowered unjustifiably high levies and fees for the financial services sector.”

The government has slashed a range of banking, finance, and regulatory fees to ease costs for businesses and consumers.

Monthly account fees for balances under US$100, charges for transactions below US$5, and cash deposit fees for both US$ and ZiG accounts have been removed.

Cash withdrawal fees are now capped at 2% for both currencies, and banks will no longer charge for opening accounts.

Fees in microfinance institutions, insurance and pensions, mobile money, and fintech capital markets have also been reduced.

Soda said the reviewed licences, permits, and fees will undergo further refinements, with a full schedule to be published in the Government Gazette.

In the manufacturing sector, Cabinet approved reforms covering 10 key light and heavy manufacturing subsectors, including beverages, agro-processing, confectionery and food, textiles and clothing, timber, paint, pharmaceuticals, brick moulding, motor vehicle assembly, and iron and steel.

Key changes include scrapping the rural district councils’ timber movement permit and consolidating separate Environmental Management Agency (EMA) registration and monitoring licences into a single charge.

Cabinet also approved reductions in other fees, such as the general import licence and various charges related to radiation and nuclear gauge licensing and registration.

In the health sector, several initial registration and inspection fees have been removed, with reductions for other regulatory charges.

This includes the elimination of initial registration fees for wholesalers, registration of pharmaceutical premises and facilities, and annual inspection fees for both manufacturing and pharmaceutical wholesalers.