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The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) says it surpassed its August revenue collection target by 15 percent assisted mainly by automation initiatives and an anti-corruption drive.

In an update, Zimra said net collections for August amounted to $307,95 million against a target of $267,66 million. The performance was also 20 percent better compared to $256 million collected during the same period last year.

“All major revenue heads — except for Individual Tax which slightly missed the target by 1,08 percent — surpassed the set targets for the month,” Zimra said.

Corporate Income Tax contributed $17,26 million against a target of $8.70 million, but the tax head’s performance continued to be affected by retrenchments, salary cuts and inconsistent income payments by some employers.

A total of $61,94 million was realised from Excise Duty which was 10,87 percent above the target of $55,87 million, the bulk of it coming from fuel imports (77 percent).

“The positive performance of Excise Duty can be attributed to an increase in fuel imports due to the availability of foreign currency for priority imports.

“The implementation of the Electronic Cargo Tracking System is also substantially plugging loopholes for transit fraud, resulting in more declared fuel for the domestic market.” A fuel marking scheme to be implemented by the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority will also assist detect irregular fuel imports.

Going forward, Zimra said it would intensify debt recovery measures, enhance automation, invoice management and the Electronic Cargo Tracking System and strive to control the refund bill.

Zimra said it remained confident of meeting its 2017 annual collection target, buoyed by the increasing use of electronic payments, which leave an audit trail. — New Ziana.