ZIMRA cracks down on tax compliance
SAMANTHA MADE
Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) has intensified its call for strict tax compliance, warning that failure to pay taxes threatens the country’s economic stability and undermines nation-building.
At the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe (ICAZ) Indaba, ZIMRA Commissioner for Domestic Taxes, Misheck Govha, framed compliance as non-negotiable.
“We want to attain what is called a data assessment requirement, and this one is for 80% of our clients submitting their returns on the due date or before,” he said.
Govha detailed ZIMRA’s digital transformation, aimed at tightening compliance and rooting out evasion. Measures include fiscalization, block management, kiosks, and a forthcoming mobile app for informal businesses. “Fiscalization is now compulsory for all businesses. We are coming up with a mobile app that will enable clients in the informal sector to fiscalize using their phones,” he said.
The authority has also deployed AI and data analytics to monitor taxpayer behavior. “We will not hesitate to take action against those who attempt to evade taxes,” Govha warned.
Full compliance is now linked to tax clearance certification, ensuring that businesses not fully fiscalized under FDMS cannot operate formally. “If you are not fully fiscalized in terms of FDMS, you are not going to get a tax clearance,” he said.
Integration with banks, the civil registry, and the registrar of companies underpins ZIMRA’s enforcement drive. “We are making it easier for businesses to register and comply with tax laws,” Govha added.
However, small and medium enterprises remain concerned. SMEAZ Executive Officer Farai Mutambanengwe warned that the regulatory framework is misaligned with SME capacity. “Our tax framework is designed for organizations that have chartered accountants…for SMEs, it’s probably one person, and that person might not be very knowledgeable,” he said.
Mutambanengwe stressed that high regulatory burdens stifle growth and encourage non-compliance. “For most of these businesses, if they comply then they are dead in the water,” he said. He urged closer collaboration between ZIMRA and SMEs to foster compliance, innovation, and sustainability. “It’s not about them versus us…we need to build a sustainable future together,” he said.
He also called for a taxation framework adapted to SMEs, including access to funding, markets, and training. “We need a taxation framework that is adapted to SMEs because we cannot use the same framework that is applied on large corporates to SMEs for various reasons,” he said.
