Zimra to introduce automatic revenue machines

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) says it is planning to introduce automatic revenue machines next year to facilitate easy processing of documents and payment of tax at border posts.

The machines, which would be the first of a kind in sub-Saharan Africa will be purchased from China and installed at the country’s border posts.

“There is a team going to China next week and its one of the deals they will be looking at,” Zimra finance director Robert Mangwiro told participants attending a World Bank doing business reforms meeting on Tuesday.

Mangwiro said the cost had not yet been finalised but said it would be funded through a supplier line of credit to be facilitated by the two countries’ governments.

“The team to China will look at various financing options for the machines and also for the cloud computing system and e-government,” he said.

The cloud computing system will enable all government agencies to have one central server to facilitate information sharing, he added.

He said the rolling out of the e-filing system had been deferred to the first quarter of next year although some trials were being conducted with a few customers.

So far the tax agency has launched the e-payment system where payments are done through banks and automatically reflects online.

On increasing border operating times, Mangwiro said only Beitbridge border post was operating  on 24 hour-day while negotiations were underway with Botswana and Zambia to increase operating hours. At Chirundu, commercial operating hours would be increased to 8pm. Similar arrangements were being negotiated for the Forbes, Nyamapanda and other border posts to facilitate speedy delivery of service.

“We are also negotiating with neighbouring countries to have a virtual one-stop border post so that our systems are linked,” he said.

Mangwiro said there was need to centralise collection of revenue which the authority would remit to the respective agencies.

“We want all statutory funds to be collected by one agency, the agency that is mandated to collect the funds, which is the Zimbabwe Regulatory Authority,” he said adding that fragmented collection promoted inefficiency and raised the cost of doing business and compliance costs.-The Source

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