Tax Clearance
A tax clearance certificate is a document that is issued by the Commissioner General of the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) to a person liable to pay tax under any of the Acts administered by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority. The certificate is issued upon request to a person whose tax affairs are up-to-date or has made satisfactory tax compliance arrangements with ZIMRA.
The Commissioner General of ZIMRA may issue a tax clearance certificate upon request by a taxpayer responsible for the payment of taxes as mandated under the Revenue Authority Act.
An ITF 263 is a Tax Clearance Certificate. It is issued to clients who are fully paid up and whose Income Tax, Value Added Tax and PAYE returns are up to date.
What is the purpose of an ITF 263?
A valid tax clearance certificate will be issued to confirm that the client’s tax position is satisfactory and there is no need for the payer to withhold 10 % tax.
What is normally required before a Tax Clearance Certificate is issued?
The following are the main requirements to be met before a Tax Clearance Certificate is issued:
• The client should submit the return(s) (if applicable) in terms of Section 37 of the Income Tax Act [Chapter 23:06], or should have made arrangements satisfactory to the Commissioner General of ZIMRA for the furnishing of such returns,
• Where applicable, payment of the appropriate Presumptive Tax in terms of the Twenty-Sixth Schedule to the Income Tax Act,
• In the case of new or proposed company or private business corporation, the client should appoint a public officer in terms of Section 61 of the Income Tax Act,
• Furnishing any return required to be submitted under any of the Acts administered by ZIMRA, or making arrangements satisfactory to the Commissioner General of ZIMRA for the furnishing of such returns,
• Payment of the appropriate tax in terms of any of the Acts administered by ZIMRA.
Who should apply for a Tax Clearance Certificate?
• A Public Officer of the company
• Any one of the company directors
• Any individual who has been authorised in writing to represent the company.
What are the benefits of having Tax Clearance Certificate?
• No Presumptive Tax will be charged on importations.
• One can easily bid for tenders with all organisations without hesitation because they will have met this requirement.
• It is a pre-requisite when applying for licences issued by the local authorities,
• One can carry out transactions without 10% of their gross amounts being withheld by a trading partner.
With effect from 1 January 2015 ZIMRA started issuing a new Tax Clearance Certificate (ITF 263), and the following features appear on the new certificate,
1. ZIMRA logo at the top of the certificate.
2. Validity period on the central top part of the certificate.
3. Validity period not exceeding December 2015.
4. Addressed to the Public Officer of the organisation.
5. Signed by both issuing officer and approving officer.
6. Stamp impression which shows the date, region and designation of the issuing office.
7. ZIMRA Motto (We are here to serve).
8. Bar Code on the central bottom part of the certificate. (When scanned through by a bar code reader it shows Name of Company, BP Number and validity period of the certificate).
Where in doubt about the validity of a Tax Clearance Certificate (ITF 263), please verify with the list published on the ZIMRA website (www.zimra.co.zw)
Lastly, our valued clients are hereby informed that ZIMRA charges no fee for the issuance of the Tax Clearance Certificate (ITF 263), and clients are encouraged to report to the Police any incidents of people purporting to be ZIMRA officers and involved in such a corrupt activity.
