Levious Chiukira on Customs and Trade

What is a bonded warehouse? A bonded warehouse is a place, a building or other secured area in which dutiable goods may be stored for after importation or manufacture without payment of duties due to customs. In simple terms, it is a duty-free zone or area which have been granted the rights to store goods waiting final clearance by customs. In Zimbabwe the bonded warehouses are managed under the Customs Excise Act Chapter (23:02) as read with the Customs and Excise General Regulations Act. Section 68 of the C&E Act as read with section 71 of the C & E regulations states that any person or business interested in operating a bonded warehouse shall make an application to the Commissioner of customs in writing submitting details and location of the bonded warehouse. The application shall be accompanied by a guarantee from a surety who can be a commercial bank or a registered insurance company. The surety shall be bonded to the customs commissioner to the total amount of duties for ...

    The direct trade participation of SMEs in developing countries is not in line with their importance at the domestic level. Compared to large firms, however, few SMEs export – direct exports representing just 3% of total SME manufacturing sales, compared to 14% for large enterprises (World Trade Organization, 2016). The process of exporting goods and services is a mammoth task which requires investments in human resources and capital. This has discouraged many SMEs. Those who choose to take up the risk are faced with non-tariff barriers (NTBs) starting from internal to regional level.   Trade facilitation is key for the success of SMEs exports and this should start at national level building up to the global. Trade facilitation looks at how procedures and controls governing the movement of goods across national borders can be improved to reduce associated cost burdens and maximize efficiency while safeguarding leg...

Zimbabwe has faced innumerable challenges on its quest to recapitalize its local industries. The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) Manufacturing Survey notes that the industry capacity utilization fell by 11.8 % to 36.4% in 2019 from 48.2% in 2018. There was a further decline in 2020 due to COVID-19 devastating effects which has already saw contraction of developed nations’ growth projections.  The reduction in capacity utilization comes with costs to both the government and the public as there will be losses in revenue, increased unemployment rates, growing levels of poverty and a decline in exports volumes resulting in further straining of already shortages of foreign currency. This will not be good for the economy and national security. Zimbabwe has limits in terms of available options and has to adopt the most uncommon protectionism  and face the backslash from both internal and external stakeholders.   Polices papers and drafts  have been written a...

With the country faced with need grow revenue , resuscitation of the local industry and  to attract Foreign Direct investments (FDIs) there is need for a coordinated effort from all principal. One of the key regulatory bodies which can contribute to this realization is the customs administration, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA). The primary tasks of customs administrations relate to the movement of goods.  As the national gatekeeper it has bestowed with two keep functions which are collection of revenue and facilitating legal trade. The functions seem contradictory at face value but in actual fact their interconnectedness determines the capacity for a country to grow its industry and remain visible in the global trade arena.  History and geography combine to select and create border posts as convenient points at which to control the movement of goods and people, managing the interface between distinct national legislations and identities. Exporters and importers in Zim...

Zimbabwe by its location is central to the linkage between the north and the south corridor. The goods entering Southern Africa through both Beira and Durban ports enroute to Zambia, Malawi and Democratic republic of Congo by default has to pass through Zimbabwe if the shortest distance has to be considered. This has resulted in brisk business by mainly customs brokers referred to as clearing agents. Zimbabwe is a host to the transport and forwarding business with some companies operating globally and regionally. There has been growth of the sector especially post 2008 with the introduction of multicurrency after the collapse of the local currency due to hyperinflation and industrial production capacity decline. There are basically three categories of goods to be cleared at any particular moment and these are imports, exports and Removal in Transit referred to as (RIT). The RIT business has enabled local businesses to thrive as decline in imports and exports have been experienced latel...