Wholesalers push for further requirements fine-tuning
STAFF WRITER
The wholesalers are requesting for the government to further fine-tune some provisions of the Value Added Tax (Amendment) and Finance Act of 2023 to enable business to flow much easier and increase revenue flows to the Treasury.
The new request comes after the Treasury fine-tuned some of the measures introduced through the 2024 National Budget, with basic food items such as bread, milk, cooking oil, and maize meal, exempted from VAT, eliminating the fears of price increases that had gripped consumers.
But wholesalers feel that the new measures are inadequate to restore supply chain channels and sanity in the sector.
In a letter dated January 10 2024, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR) president, Dr Denford Mutashu wrote to the Treasury and Industry and Commerce Ministry that some of the new measures continue to hurt wholesalers.
“We therefore humbly propose the following fine-tuning: Section 81 of the Finance Act, paragraph 4 [a-e] stipulates that if a customer is buying for the first time in any given calendar year without having a physical receipt of a prior purchase in the previous calendar year, the limit to be purchased is US$20 or the equivalent in Zimbabwe dollars.
“As wholesalers we will find it complicated to administer this section of the Act as it is an immense task to manage at the Point of Sale.We therefore propose that this clause be removed from the Act in its entirety,” Mutashu said.
He said Section 81 of the Finance Act stipulates that non-registered customers can’t purchase more than US$1000 per month and using this amount it is inadequate for dealers or farmers to acquire enough stuff hence the wholesalers are requesting this general limit to be increased to US$5000 per 30 day period.
“The Act also specifies that Wholesalers should trade with VAT Registered Retailer’s only and specifically. This however will by default cut out our other traditional and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority tax compliant customers, such as but no limited to commercial an
small scale farmers, schools, colleges, churches and restaurants among others.
“We therefore ask that wholesalers continue to be allowed to trade with any and all legitimate, officially registered and tax compliant entities within Zimbabwe,” Mutashu said.
The wholesalers want to be allowed to buy directly from the manufacturers.