Civil Servants can still import cards duty-free
The Zimbabwean government recently extended the provisions of Statutory Instrument 52 of 2019. Don’t worry this is one of those few sort of good ones. The law has a provision that allows civil servants who have been in service for at least 10 years to import a car duty-free. There are two restrictions though:
- The value of the imported car must not exceed US$10 000
- You are only entitled to import one car withing a period of five years
It’s one of those potentially useful provisions that people are usually not aware of. It’s a law that often gets foreshadowed by cruel provisions like Statutory 89 of 2021 which bans the importation of second-hand vehicles, popularly known as ex-Japs that are more than 10 years old.
The government announced the extension of the duty-free provision in a letter sent out by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Public SErvice, Labour and Social Welfare. In the letter dated 16 August 2021, Permanent Secretary Simon Masanga wrote affirming the extensions.
It’s very true that the Government has continued the rebate on motor vehicle scheme for civil servants. That is one of the non-monetary benefits for civil servants.
Civil servants requested that it be continued. The Public Service Commission and the Treasury agreed to continue with the programme until further notice.
Simon Masanga speaking to the Chronicle
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My daughter has worked for civil servant for more than 10 years ,in zimbabwe and has seen a car that she wants in UK but the car is more than 10 years infact its a 2003 model , so is she still exempt from paying duty ?
The general rule is that you cannot import a car that is more than 10 years old unless you have a special permit allowing you to do so. It’s a separate rule from the one which exempts civil servants from paying duty on at least one car. She cannot import the car without a permit. She will have to have a permit first. The truth is, unless there is a compelling reason she will probably not get a permit. Another thing to note is that duty was often almost a 100% on exJaps anyway and she is better off just going to Musina and buying a car there as it will be much easier and cheaper than importing from the UK. The sellers in Musina enjoy economies of scale and have seen a big fall in their daily sales so they are desperate to sell and often do so at lower prices than would be the case if one bought a car from the UK.
WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR ONE TO QUALIFY,A LIST OF THE THINGS NEEDED.
You need to get in touch with the Public Services Commission to be given up to date information on the issue.