Zimra in US$9 mln tax system upgrade

Harare, (New Ziana) – The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) is upgrading its tax management system in a bid to enhance efficiency in domestic resource mobilisation through linking key institutions relevant to tax collection, an official has said.

The multi-million dollar exercise is being funded through a grant from the African Development Bank, which signed an agreement with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development last week.

Of the US$10.4 million that the AfDB availed, Zimra will get about US$8.9 million for implementation of the project.

Speaking on the funding, Zimra Commissioner General, Faith Mazanhi said the new Tax and Revenue Management System (TaRMS) will replace the one that has been in use for the past 16 years and was now fraught with challenges.

“TaRMS will revolutionise tax management by bringing efficiency in the authority’s processes enhancing transparency, service delivery and accountability,” she said.

“It will improve self-service and voluntary compliance by providing an efficient and effective platform to address current constraints.”

The new system is not only expected to interface with other Zimra systems used for revenue collection in different areas like the Asycuda for customs collections but also to link the tax agency with institutions such as banks, Registrar of Companies and the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency which are key in the revenue collection exercise.

“The new system will equip ZIMRA with the enhanced capacity to mobilise revenue for the government of Zimbabwe for the benefit of the Zimbabwe population,” said Mazanhi.

Zimra is a key government institution, providing the bulk of funding for its budget in the wake of dried up international support.
New Ziana