Government sets new rules for tax agents

GOVERNMENT has set new rules for tax agents who handle individual and corporate issues in the domestic sector in a move set to bring sanity to the economy and weed out rent-seeking activities.

The tax agents are now required to be licensed by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) and the licence shall be valid for a period of two years from the date it was issued or renewed.

In addition, the licensee may make an application for renewal not more than 30 days before the expiry of the existing licence.
It is understood that in some instances some unscrupulous tax agents have been colluding with clients to forge tax returns and related material to reduce the amount of taxes Zimra is collecting on domestic taxes.

The move is also set to protect individuals and corporates who were being duped or misled by some wheeler-dealers resulting in unnecessary and strenuous legal battles with the revenue collector.

The new set of rules are contained in Statutory Instrument number 125 of 2023 (Tax Agent (licensing) issued by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube, on Monday.

ZIMRA

In the new S.I., the minister said the changes take effect immediately and were done in terms of Section 35 of the Revenue Authority Act (Chapter 23:11).

“In these regulations, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority Commissioner General shall be construed as the licensing authority and the tax agent refers to a person or body of persons, that acts on behalf of another to represent tax affairs of that other person,” read part of the legal document.

“No person shall be licensed unless the individual, he or she belongs to or is under the jurisdiction of a professional body and has completed a course in basic bookkeeping principles or has 10 years relevant experience in the field of accountancy or taxation.”

In addition, one must have no record of criminal convictions in any court of law, and in the case of a company, a certified copy of its constitutive documents is provided and all executive directors or partners, managers, and employees will be authorised to act on behalf of the tax agent must be registered as a tax agent.

Any person who wishes to be licensed as a tax agent is now required to submit an application to any of the Zimra offices.
In addition, they should attach relevant documents such as identification particulars, tax clearance, and company registration documents, among others.

The minister said in the legal document the application shall be processed within a period of 30 days and that these will be either approved with specified conditions or rejected for specified reasons.

“On conditions of licensing, no licensee, whether individual or corporate, shall, transfer his or her license to another person during the currency of the license.

“Additionally, no licensee shall operate outside the district or area for which he or she is licensed unless he or she is licensed to operate as a tax agent exclusively from any area.

“The Commissioner may impose any such conditions from time to time,” said Prof Ncube.
As part of the new regulations, a licence may be cancelled if it is established by the licensing authority that the licensee was issued in error, through fraud, misrepresentation or non-disclosure of a material fact by the applicant.

In some instances, the licence shall be suspended if the tax agent has contravened any provision of the regulations set out in the licence or they have ceased operations. —chronicle