Ethanol Case Exposes Duty Evasion Scam

Munyaradzi Mashiri- Court Correspondent

A 33-year-old man appeared before the Harare Magistrates' Courts facing fraud allegations after allegedly smuggling ethanol worth more than ZWG$717,000 into Zimbabwe without paying customs duty.

Gabriel Mupukuta, who is accused of orchestrating the scam, was granted US$200 bail and will return to court on May 20, 2025, for a routine remand.

The complainant is Hillarious Chitsatso, managing director of Docamat Customs Clearing and Freight Forwarding, based in Harare.

Prosecutors allege that in May 2024, Mupukuta approached Chitsatso seeking to clear two ethanol tankers from South Africa en route to Zambia through the Nyamapanda border, using Chitsatso's customs bond under Docamat’s name. Chitsatso agreed.

The tankers involved were:

First consignment via Beitbridge Border: horse registration AGJ6350, tankers AGK2396 and AGK2397.

Second consignment via Plumtree Border: horse registration HK09LLGP, tankers LN98FCGP and LN98DZGP.

After clearing entry into Zimbabwe, Chitsatso later discovered through the ZIMRA system that two of the trucks had not exited the country, raising suspicion that the ethanol had been offloaded locally, thereby evading customs duties.

When questioned, Mupukuta failed to provide a satisfactory explanation regarding the status of the tankers.

Subsequent checks confirmed that the trucks had not exited Zimbabwe, prompting ZIMRA to shut down Docamat's customs bond. This closure resulted in Chitsatso being held liable for ZWG$717,333.04 in revenue losses, along with penalties, bringing the total prejudice to ZWG$1,434,666.08.