Government tackles transit fuel fraud head-on

GOVERNMENT has introduced new regulations that will see fuel being transported through Zimbabwe to other countries paying duty and levies upon entry to minimise cases of transit fraud.

However, the duty and levies are refundable to the importer at the port of exit subject to submission of sufficient proof that they have actually exported the fuel.

This affects the transportation of all fuel including petrol, diesel, paraffin and Jet A1 being transported by road through Zimbabwe.

Transit fraud results in situations where importers declare that goods are in transit (removal in transit-RIT) to neighbouring countries yet the cargo is offloaded in Zimbabwe.

As a result of such activities the country was losing a lot of potential revenue to the criminals. Under the customs laws specified goods attract excise duty during importation into the country.

In a public notice, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) said the new regulations were effective from August 10 this year.

“The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) wishes to advise its valued clients and the public of the 2024 Mid-term budget procurement by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion relating to the payment of duty for fuel in transit to mitigate against transit fraud,” said Zimra.

“With effect from August 10, 2024, all fuel, petrol, diesel, paraffin and Jet A1, in transit imported through ports of entry by road, are now required to pay duty and levies on entry.

“The duty and levies will be refunded at the port of exit upon compliance with all the transit procedures, including submission of proof that the fuel has been exported.

“Consignee’s and/ representative should approach Zimra at the port of entry to initiate the fuel clearance and payment process. For the refund process, once the fuel has been exported they should approach Zimra at the port of exit to initiate the requisite refund.”

In light of a surge in cases of transit fraud, the Government through Zimra has been acquiring electric seals for transit break bulk cargo mostly being carried in flat bed trailers in a move set to reduce incidents of transit fraud.
In some instances the authority is putting electronic cargo trackers on commercial cargo in transit and the said cargo is transported via geo-fenced routes.

The Electronic Cargo Tracking System (ECTS) was rolled out early in 2017 to curb transit fraud and to safeguard revenue collection by Zimra.

This system monitors the movement of transit cargo from the point of entry into Zimbabwe up to the point of exit and ensures that there is no tampering with the consignment along the designated route.

In addition, the process involves the tracking of transiting cargo in real time throughout the entire route from point of entry to point of exit.

The ECT gives instant alarms on any violations and this triggers the intervention of the dedicated security and Zimra reaction teams. In most cases commercial goods are transported in tankers, containers and flatbed trailers covered with tents (break bulk).

It is understood that most of the controlled goods, which are finding their way to the local market through transit fraud include; cooking oil, washing powder, assorted groceries, genetically modified foods and banned medicines.
Beitbridge Border Post handles an average of 200 transit vehicles per day destined for countries north of the Zambezi River including Zambia, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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