The Government, through the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Sithembiso Nyoni, has removed duty on several products, among them candles, network cables, fertilizers, detergents and biscuits.
The Government on 26 February 2024 gazetted Statutory Instrument 6 of 2024 which scrapped the duty of certain products. The regulations read in part:
IT is hereby notified that the Minister of Industry and Commerce, in terms of section 4(1) of the Control of Goods (Import and Export) (Commerce) Regulations, 1974, published in the Rhodesia Government Notice No. 766 of 1974, hereby makes the following notice:-
1. This notice may be cited as the Control of Goods (Open General Import Licence) (Amendment) Notice, 2024 (No. 14).
2. The Control of Goods (Import and Export) (Commerce) Regulations, 1974, published in the Rhodesia Government Notice No. 766 of 1974, are amended by the insertion of the following products to the Open General Import Licence (OGIL).
3. The mentioned products no longer require an import permit or licence.
The mentioned products are: data and network cables, floor polish, batteries, tile adhesive, grout and tylon, biscuits, detergents and washing preparations (engine cleaners, window cleaners and other detergents), fertiliser and fertiliser products (Urea, Ammonium Nitrate, NPK, compounds and blends, CAN and LAN, Single Superphosphate.
While the scrapping of duty on fertiliser makes sense as the country is currently in the middle of the rainy season, and there is a shortage of the product on the market, removing duty on biscuits may harm local manufacturers who will have to contend with an influx of cheap products.
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