Siphakeme .Mnindwa
Sikhulekelani Moyo, [email protected]
THE Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) has commended the automation of company and tax registration processes saying this has reduced business costs and helps improve the ease of doing business.
In its 2024 State of the Industry Survey, the business lobby group said several issues have continued to be flagged by businesses as factors increasing the cost of doing business in Zimbabwe.
Among these are bureaucracy and red tape caused by unautomated processes, inefficient legal and regulatory framework, inadequate infrastructure, high taxes, limited access to finance and information, corruption tendencies, restrictive labour regulations and macro-economic limitations.
“With regard to the automation of company and tax registration, there are significant improvements. For instance, in the past, company registration was cumbersome with 90 percent of the work including the processing of documents like CR5, CR6 and Memorandum and Articles of Association done manually,” said the business lobby groups.
“However, introducing the Companies and Intellectual Property Office of Zimbabwe (CIPZ) has significantly improved the ease of company registration.
“The 100 percent automated CIPZ system allows a faster, more efficient and zero interaction with officials. This also reduces corruption.”
In addition to the CIPZ system, ZNCC said the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) recently introduced the Tax and Revenue Management System (TaRMS), which allows one to obtain a tax clearance certificate within two hours of application if all the required documents are accurately captured.
The TaRMS encompasses various modules including debt management, payment options and agent registration.
“These modules are introduced gradually. What is also good news for the ease of business is that the TaRMS has been integrated with the CIP,” said ZNCC.
The business lobby group said infrastructure, particularly, unreliable power supply and poor road infrastructure continue to be a major problem in Zimbabwe.
However, the business leaders commended Government’s efforts on infrastructure development saying that spending US$300 million in 2024 is recommended for improving infrastructure.
“On a positive note, the trading across borders climate is continuously improving as the infrastructure at the main ports of entry is being upgraded as well as the airports and the major highways,” said ZNCC.
“A case in point is the upgrading of the Robert Mugabe International Airport’s domestic terminal. The clearing work at the ports was assigned only to Zimra to speed the process by reducing the number of authorities that have to inspect cargo and reducing corrupt tendencies in the process.”
With the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) now in the operationalisation phase, ZNCC said improving the country’s standing on trade facilitation needs to be improved further. —@SikhulekelaniM1
