The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) collected US$4.71 billion in net revenue for the first half of 2026, surpassing its target of US$4.05 billion by 16.14%.

The performance represents a 46.73% increase compared to the US$3.21 billion collected in the corresponding period in 2025.

In local currency terms, net collections reached ZiG125.06 billion against a target of ZiG104.99 billion, exceeding expectations by 19.12%.

Gross collections for the period stood at ZiG132.53 billion, with Zimra issuing ZiG7.48 billion in refunds, representing 5.64% of total gross collections.

According to Zimra Board Chairperson Antony Mandiwanza, compliance enforcement accounted for 78.2% of the excess revenue.

Other key revenue drivers included increased visibility through digital tax systems, staff focus, and tighter debt control, while policy changes accounted for less than 1% of the surplus.

Corporate Income Tax led performance among individual tax heads, exceeding its target by 47.77%.

Other strong performers relative to target included Value Added Tax (VAT) on Imports at 41.20%, Mining Royalties at 30.25%, Net Customs Duty at 26.93%, and Net VAT on Local Sales at 22.03%.

In terms of overall revenue contribution, four tax heads generated 60% of total collections. Pay As You Earn (PAYE) was the largest contributor at 18%, followed by Corporate Income Tax at 15%, VAT on Local Sales at 14%, and VAT on Imports at 13%. The remaining tax heads collectively accounted for 40% of total revenue.

The revenue collector expanded its tax base by registering 37,783 new taxpayers during the six-month period, which included 2,056 new PAYE taxpayers and 955 new VAT taxpayers.

Filing compliance remained high across major operations, with Large Client Office PAYE compliance hitting 98.1% and Medium Client Office PAYE reaching 92.7%.

Mandiwanza said Zimra made progress on its digital transformation initiatives, bringing its Tax and Revenue Management System (TaRMS) to 98% completion and its Fiscalisation Data Management System (FDMS) to 99%.

He said the integration between TaRMS and FDMS reached 100%, supporting a national taxpayer onboarding rate of 92% across 22,679 taxpayers.

The revenue authority processed 20.4 million fiscal invoices in H1 2026, while virtual fiscalisation usage grew from 20% in the first quarter to 49% in the second quarter.

Mandiwanza said all 16 commercial banks in the country are now fully integrated for payment processing.

Trade facilitation metrics show that Zimra processed ZiG253.81 billion in imports and ZiG190.22 billion in exports.

Out of 261,435 registered Bills of Entry, 258,631 were processed, maintaining an assessment rate of 98.93% and an average clearance time for local bills of entry of two hours, 11 minutes, and 30 seconds.

On the enforcement front, ZIMRA scanned 73,085 high-risk cargo shipments, seized 14,881 high-risk transit trucks, issued 1,480 Notices of Seizure, and achieved a sealing rate of 23.92%.

Cumulative debt at the end of June 2026 stood at ZiG9.47 billion and US$1.26 billion.

Mandiwanza said Zimra projects revenue collections of US$5.65 billion for the second half of 2026, representing an expected growth rate of 19.88% compared to the first half.

He noted that the second half performance outlook remains subject to risks including global trade uncertainty, commodity price volatility, domestic liquidity constraints, and compliance pressures.