ZIMBABWE MUST ALLOW RETURNING ZIMBABWEAN MIGRANTS FORCED OUT OF SOUTH AFRICA TO BRING THEIR PROPERTIES AND POSSESSIONS DUTY FREE UNDER RELAXED CUSTOMS LAWS

PETITION FOR HUMANITARIAN EXEMPTION FROM CUSTOMS DUTIES FOR ZIMBABWEANS RETURNING UNDER DURESS FROM SOUTH AFRICA

To:

The Honourable President of the Republic of Zimbabwe

The Minister of Finance and Economic Development

The Commissioner-General, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA)

Date: 28 May 2026

Subject: URGENT PETITION FOR TEMPORARY RELIEF FROM CUSTOMS DUTIES FOR ZIMBABWEAN NATIONALS FORCIBLY RETURNING FROM SOUTH AFRICA

BACKGROUND

We, the undersigned, represent Zimbabwean nationals living in South Africa, their families in Zimbabwe, and civil society organisations. On [date of announcement], vigilante groups in South Africa issued an ultimatum demanding that all foreign nationals leave the country by 30 June [current year] under threat of violence.

This has created a forced mass displacement crisis. Thousands of our citizens are now compelled to return to Zimbabwe with immediate effect, abandoning jobs, homes, and assets they have built over many years.

THE GRIEVANCE

Under current ZIMRA regulations (Section 92 of the Customs and Excise Act), returning residents are subject to duty on goods valued above US$50 for accompanied baggage, plus punitive duties on vehicles, electronics, furniture, and household effects.

Applying these rules to people fleeing forced eviction is unjust and counterproductive because:

1. These are not commercial imports. These are personal effects accumulated by workers and families over years of hard labour.

2. The return is not voluntary. Our citizens are not choosing to return for a holiday; they are fleeing xenophobic violence.

3. Double taxation. Most goods were purchased with after-tax income earned in South Africa.

4. Poverty creation. Forcing returnees to pay duties they cannot afford – or to abandon their belongings at the border – will turn productive citizens into destitute dependents overnight.

THE DEMANDS

We respectfully but urgently petition the Government of Zimbabwe and ZIMRA to immediately issue a Humanitarian Returns Dispensation effective from now until 31 December 2026, providing:

1. Full customs duty and surtax exemption on all personal household goods, furniture, clothing, electronics, tools of trade, and motor vehicles (one per adult returnee) brought by Zimbabweans returning from South Africa during this forced displacement period.

2. Removal of the 90-day ownership rule for motor vehicles, recognising that returnees cannot have purchased their cars specifically to evade duty.

3. Simplified border clearance – a single affidavit attesting to forced return, accepted in place of extensive documentary proof.

4. Public sensitisation – clear instructions issued to all border posts (especially Beitbridge) and published in local media, so officials do not harass or extort returnees.

CONCLUSION

These Zimbabweans are not smugglers or tax evaders. They are mothers, fathers, and young people who left home to survive. They are now being forced back by violence. If they arrive home to find that everything they own has been confiscated or taxed beyond reach, we will have completed the work of the vigilantes ourselves.

We ask for compassion, regional solidarity, and practical relief.

Deliver this response to:

· Clerk of Parliament (for tabling)

· ZIMRA Complaints & Compliance Unit

· Zimbabwe Embassy in Pretoria (for onward transmission)