The government has suspended duty on fertiliser imports by approved importers with immediate effect. This is meant to ensure adequate supplies for the 2024-2025 summer cropping season.
The announcement was made by Minister of Finance, Economic Development, and Investment Promotion, Mthuli Ncube, through Statutory Instrument 178 of 2024, published in the Government Gazette on November 8.
Under the new regulations, licensed and approved importers who bring in duty-free fertiliser but then sell it at the same or higher price than those who have paid duty will be required to pay the full duty, along with penalties.
Minister Ncube also stated that the list of reputable importers authorized to benefit from the duty suspension will be approved by the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development, Anxious Masuka. Said Ncube:
The Minister responsible for Agriculture shall approve a list of reputable fertiliser importers for the purposes of these regulations…
The Commissioner shall grant suspension of duty to an approved importer subject to compliance with section 34C of the Revenue Authority Act [Chapter 23:11].
The Commissioner shall not grant suspension of duty to an approved fertiliser importer where the importer does not have a licence issued by the Ministry responsible for Agriculture…
Any approved fertiliser importer who sells fertilisers for which duty would have been suspended at prices equal or higher than fertilisers on which duty is ordinarily payable shall be liable to pay the duty suspended and applicable penalties.
Ncube also said that approved importers will be allowed to exhaust the ring-fenced allocations of 100,000 tonnes of urea and 150,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate.
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