Local businesses must familiarise themselves with agreements between Zimbabwe and other countries or trade blocs to benefit from the appropriate terms that give them the best advantage, experts say.
This emerged from the engagement the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) held in partnership with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) to equip businesses with practical tools to navigate trade procedures, tariff classification and non-tariff barriers.
The session brought together ZIMRA officials, CZI representatives and key stakeholders from various sectors, including leather, to discuss challenges around customs processes and access to trade information.
Zimbabwe Leather Development Council secretary, Mr Jacob Nyathi, said the engagement was highly empowering but noted that more time was needed.
“We encourage ZIMRA to organise further interventions in the form of training (and) capacity building.
They could even bring them down to be sector-specific so that we get a better impact,” he said.
He welcomed ZIMRA’s approach, saying the presentation was not too technical, but very understandable.
In her presentation, CZI trade, regulation and development economist Ms Chinyaradzo Phiri said businesses must first identify the product, source, or destination country and check which trade agreements apply.
Zimbabwe is a member of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, Southern African Development Community and African Continental Free Trade Area. It has trade partnership agreements with the European Union and the United Kingdom.
“Businesses should determine which agreement gives the best trade advantage,” she said, adding that exporters and importers also need to understand tariff or HS codes, duties, taxes, standards, labelling requirements and documentation for border clearance.
She said that rules of origin certificates are critical to prove products qualify for preferential treatment.
Ms Makhozasana Guture, from the ZIMRA Customs and Excise Department, explained that products qualifying under trade agreements benefit from reduced or zero customs duties.
Zimbabwe has bilateral agreements with Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique and Tunisia, legalised through statutory instruments.
Under most agreements, products qualify if they meet a minimum local content threshold of 25 percent, are directly consigned between trading countries and complete final manufacturing in the exporting country.
Some agreements also allow accumulation of origin, where production stages across member states count towards origin.
“Understanding rules of origin is essential because they determine whether exports receive trade agreement benefits and preferential treatment,” said Ms Guture.
Mr Thembinkosi Ndlovu, also from the ZIMRA Customs and Excise Department, delivered a presentation on the new e-Tariff system, a web-based platform designed to simplify customs procedures.
The platform allows users to search tariff schedules, classify goods, estimate duties and taxes, and access legal requirements and previous rulings.
“The system supports technology-driven trade facilitation by helping users classify goods, calculate duties, reduce compliance costs and access tariff information more efficiently,” said Mr Ndlovu.
“AI-assisted functions improve classification and information access. Businesses can also use the system for pre-clearance, starting customs processes before goods arrive to reduce delays.”
He said benefits include faster processing, lower compliance costs, greater transparency and better planning for businesses.
The platform is already functional and traders have been encouraged to use it for better compliance and decision-making.
ZIMRA said it aims to modernise customs operations and make compliance easier through electronic systems and digital payments.
Meanwhile, Bulawayo Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises vice chairperson Ms Sithabile Bhebhe urged SMEs to work closely with Zimra, saying that the players lose a lot through dealing with agents.
“SMEs lack knowledge. We are paying a lot of money to agents, whilst we can reduce those costs through engaging with Zimra directly,” said Ms Bhebhe.
“I don’t even know how I can convince players in the sector to at least have a time with Zimra and understand how the organisation works.”-nherald
