A local cement importer, Augutich Investments (Non-public) Puny has approached the Excessive Court looking out for an interdict in opposition to the Minister of Finance and Financial Construction over the these days launched surtax which they order is illegitimate and contradicts the COMESA ( Frequent Marketplace for Jap and Southern Africa) rules.
According to authorized skilled Ashriel Mugiya who is representing the firm’s CEO, Levy Mashingaidze, the surtax used to be launched thru the Customs and Excise (Surtax Tariff) (Modification) Take into list, 2025 (No.6), which used to be promulgated on May presumably well well also 16, 2025.
The original rules had been met with fierce resistance from importers, who argue that the surtax contradicts the COMESA agreement, which exempts member states from paying tasks on goods imported from various member states.
Mashingaidze argues that the surtax will trigger irreparable spoil to their client’s industry, as they’ve already bought cement from Zambia, a COMESA member voice, and ought to tranquil be subjected to retrospective taxation.
The court docket papers imprint that the firm has 50 haulage trucks stuck at the Chirundu border publish, incurring demurrage costs of $10,000 per day, due to the original tax responsibilities.
Mugiya says the authorities’s actions will be in warfare with the COMESA Treaty, which objectives to promote economic integration and cooperation amongst member states.
“My client is in the business of importing cement from Zambia, so this statutory instrument is a direct violation of the other one which was promulgated in 2000 which exempt taxi from goods that are manufactured from COMESA member states,” Mugiya acknowledged
The enchancment has raised concerns in regards to the country’s dedication to regional integration and exchange agreements, and will possess a ways-reaching implications for the country’s economic system and industry community.
