Stepping up its efforts to implement the 2022 version of the Harmonized System (HS) in time, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) held a meeting of the Technical Working Group on HS 2022. The meeting was held from 14 to 18 June 2021 in Kadoma, Zimbabwe, bringing together officials from the Head Office and the Regional Offices of the ZIMRA. The EU-WCO Programme for Harmonized System (HS) in Africa (HS-Africa Programme) virtually attended the meeting on behalf of the WCO, following its earlier consultation meeting with the ZIMRA on the matter.

The meeting was conducted with the aim of finalizing the outstanding issues in the draft HS 2022 national tariff, aligning it with market access offers and other instruments, as well as doing the quality checks of the texts. The Working Group examined market access offers involving agreements with the European Union, the United Kingdom, Eastern and Southern Africa. On the HS 2022 Nomenclature, and drafted the required statutory instruments.

The Working Group furthermore examined amendments of the national Value Added Tax (VAT) Regulations, bringing them into conformity with the HS 2022 version. The Regulations are used by Customs alongside the national tariff with regard to imported goods when collecting VAT.

In order to set up a solid framework for the implementation of HS amendments, the Working Group developed a scheme describing and sequencing all the major steps whereby national HS-based instruments are migrated to new editions of the HS, in consultation with the HS-Africa Programme. The ZIMRA and the HS-Africa Programme furthermore agreed on an action plan to join hands in ensuring a smooth and timely implementation of the HS 2022 amendments in Zimbabwe.

For more details, please contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.