Harmonization for Zanzibar imports not double taxation

Responding to a basic question by Magomeni Zanzibar MP Jamal Kassim Ali (CCM), the Deputy Minister for Finance and Planning, Dr Ashantu Kijaji, requested the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar to adopt the agreed Import Export system to harmonize taxes for imports.

The legislator, Jamal Kassim Ali, wanted to learn about the system applied to calculate the ration of taxes in both Zanzibar and Mainland ports for imported goods.

“The Import Export Commodity Database keeps the catalogued fee for every imported item depending on the value. Officials from Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) make reference to the system with already set prices to determine the actual value of the imported consignment. However, goods manufactured in Zanzibar are not charged once brought to the Mainland,” Kijaji explained.

She dismissed allegations over double taxation for goods imported through Zanzibar, insisting that what happened was the necessary adjustment to attain the corresponding taxes, according to the database.

“Once the import documents are submitted to the Central Data Processing Office, which include the imported goods through Zanzibar port, the information is fed to the database for determination of the actual value and the right price the client is obliged to pay. Any difference found in the documents will be squared for appropriate charge, according to the database values,” she explained.

For many years an assortment of goods imported to the country through Zanzibar have found a market in the Mainland. A larger part of the shipment passes through illegal channels, denying the government millions of shillings in revenue.

However, businesspersons receiving items from Zanzibar have complained that they were obliged to pay taxes twice, which prompted clarification by the government yesterday.