Value Added Tax (General) (Amendment) Regulations, 2017 (No.43)

It is hereby notified that the Minister of Finance and Economic Development has, in terms of section 78 of the Value Added Tax Act [Chapter 23:12], made the following notice:-

This statutory instrument came into force on the day it was gazetted, 16th February 2017.  It was made by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development. 

Section 2 repeals Statutory Instrument 20/2017, which is available on the Veritas website using the above link.  That is the statutory instrument which came into effect on 1st February and revoked the existing exemption from VAT for potatoes, rice, margarine, mahewu, meat and fish.

Also available on the website is the Ministerial Statement on Statutory Instrument 20/2017 presented to the National Assembly on 7th February 2017, in which the Minister of Finance and Economic Dvelopment said he would shelve implementation of that statutory instrument.  It has taken the Minister more than a week to give legal effect to his Ministerial Statement.  Meanwhile, the changes made by SI 20 remained in full effect and legally binding on all concerned. 

Note that SI 26A DOES NOT have retrospective effect.  So the collection of VAT under SI 20 from 1st to 15th February is NOT reversed.  The Government gets to keep what was collected.

A Ministry of Finance and Economic Development Press Statement released on 16th February advised traders that consumers sholuld not be made to pay VAT on beef, chicken, fish, rice, potatoes, margarine and mahewu, effective from 16th February.