Value Added Tax (General) (Amendment) Regulations, 2025 (No. 75)
The fixed 25% rate in paragraph 1 of the VAT Fifth Schedule is replaced by the bank policy rate plus 5%, and the schedule now refers to "local currency" rather than Zimbabwe dollars.
Paragraph 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the Value Added Tax (General) Regulations, 2003 is amended in two places. The words "Zimbabwe dollars" are replaced with "local currency", and the fixed rate of twenty-five per centum is replaced with the bank policy rate as revised from time to time, plus five per cent above that rate.
The currency wording brings the schedule into line with a monetary regime that no longer uses the Zimbabwe dollar by name. The rate change matters more: a figure that had been pinned at 25% will now move whenever the Reserve Bank revises its policy rate, which at recent policy rates is a substantially lower charge than the one it replaces.
The instrument does not restate what the rate in paragraph 1 applies to. It amends words inside a schedule without reproducing the surrounding provision, so this text on its own cannot tell you which VAT liability the 25% was charged on. Anyone affected should read paragraph 1 of the Fifth Schedule as it now stands rather than relying on this summary for scope.
No commencement date is stated; the regulations were gazetted in an Extraordinary Gazette dated 19 March 2025.
What changed
- The fixed rate of 25% in paragraph 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the VAT (General) Regulations, 2003 is replaced with the bank policy rate plus 5%.
- "Zimbabwe dollars" is replaced with "local currency" in the same paragraph.
- The instrument does not reproduce the surrounding provision, so the scope of the rate cannot be read from this text alone.
Who this affects
- VAT-registered operators
- taxpayers charged under paragraph 1 of the VAT Fifth Schedule
- tax advisers and accountants
Plain-language summary — not legal advice. Always read the full instrument.