ZIMRA rebate scam: Over 400 vehicles illegally imp...

ZIMRA rebate scam: Over 400 vehicles illegally imported

Nyashadzashe Ndoro

Chief Reporter

A shocking case of fraud has come to light involving a former Zimbabwe Revenue Authority employee, Yvonne Tambudzai Musoni, who allegedly hacked her supervisor's electronic signature to approve over 400 illegal vehicle imports under the civil servants' rebate scheme.

The scheme, designed to assist serving civil servants in purchasing personal cars, has been grossly abused, and Musoni's actions have raised questions about the vulnerability of the system.

An investigation by Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and ZIMRA revealed that Musoni, an office assistant at ZIMRA's Harare Port, used her supervisor's electronic signature to sign and stamp fake rebate letters, bypassing checks and balances.

The scam came to light when Musoni's supervisor, Philbert Muchechetere, discovered the fake rebate letters and launched an internal investigation.

Targeted audits confirmed Musoni's possession of Muchechetere's signature and her role in approving the fake rebate letters.

Musoni, now a fugitive, is believed to be in Cape Town, South Africa. In the meantime, the Prosecutor-General's office has successfully applied for a High Court order to freeze Musoni's property, including the family house at the exclusive Mabvazuva Gated Estate in Harare. Additionally, US$28,625 held in the accounts of Watershed College and US$18,940 in those of Lusitania Primary School, assigned for her children's school fees, have been frozen.

In May this year, a joint operation by ZACC and ZIMRA resulted in the recovery of 250 vehicles illegally imported through the exploitation of tax rebates intended for civil servants in 2019.

The civil servants' motor vehicle rebate scheme was a government incentive aimed at allowing long-serving civil servants (10+ years) to import vehicles duty-free. However, beneficiaries of this scheme are prohibited from selling, offering, or displaying their imported vehicles for sale, leasing, or hiring within five years from the date of importation without obtaining prior written permission from ZIMRA. Failure to comply would require the payment of residual duty, including interest, to ZIMRA.

Investigations revealed that unscrupulous car dealers in Harare were abusing this scheme by importing vehicles duty-free in the names of civil servants, who would receive a payment for allowing their names to be used to evade customs duty. This fraudulent scheme has resulted in significant revenue losses for the State, as individuals who should be paying duty were importing cars for free.

In some cases, civil servants were importing vehicles for relatives and third parties, who would pay a "token of appreciation" ranging from US$700 to US$1,500, depending on the vehicle type.

The vehicles would remain registered in the names of the civil servants, who would allow others to drive them.