By The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development has come up with regulation in terms Customs and Excise Act which brings about legislative changes to improve the management of transit cargo in Zimbabwe. Transit traffic dropped by 60% since the introduction of the Electronic Cargo Tracking System (ECTS), showing many were involved in transit smuggling and the ECTS introduced in May are costing an average of $1 billion in annual government revenue.
The Statutory Instrument (SI) 113 of 2017, enacts that Containers and vehicles conveying goods through Zimbabwe shall not be opened whilst in Zimbabwe and any seals or electronic seals which are found or placed on the containers and vehicles shall not be broken or tampered with. Where seals are tampered with, lost or there is unauthorized breaking of electronic seals placed on a road vehicle, the offender shall be liable to a penalty of US$1,300 and the transporter shall be liable to a penalty $2,000 for diversion from the route specified by the Commissioner General of ZIMRA.
SOURCE: Financial Express
All road vehicles and containers conveying goods through Zimbabwe shall be fitted with a device to facilitate Customs sealing. Where there are no such locking systems on the road vehicles and containers, the hinges shall be so made and fitted that doors and closing systems cannot be lifted off the hinge pins once shut. Screws, bolts, hinge pins and fasteners shall be welded to the outer part of the hinges” said Zimra in a statement.
A fee of $30 shall be payable on all road vehicles conveying goods and break-bulk cargo through Zimbabwe, where such seals and/or magnetic sealing cables are placed on the cargo.
Road vehicles conveying break bulk cargo through Zimbabwe should be covered with a single tarpaulin tent with reinforced holes at the edges for placement of magnetic sealing cable and electronic seals
“On road vehicles carrying abnormal break bulk loads which cannot be covered by a single tarpaulin tent, written permission to allow the transit of such cargo should be sought from the Commissioner General of ZIMRA.
Other road vehicles which cannot be covered or sealed as required by the Commissioner General shall be escorted at the sole discretion of the Commissioner General, and costs shall be borne by the operator of the road vehicle so requiring it to be escorted,” said Zimra.
In June 2016, government identified transit truckers as the biggest culprits responsible for significant volumes of smuggled goods entering Zimbabwe costing $1,5 billion in annual revenue
Comments