Control of Goods (Import and Export) (Commerce) (Amendment) Regulations, 2024 (No. 11)

The Minister of Industry and Commerce has tightened and clarified the ban on importing older second-hand vehicles that was introduced by S.I. 54 of 2024.

The rule is that the vehicle must be under ten years old at the point all ZIMRA clearance processes are completed — not merely at the point of purchase or shipment. That timing matters: a vehicle that ages past ten years while sitting at the border falls outside the rule.

Import licences will not be processed or issued for used vehicles purchased and consigned after S.I. 54 of 2024 was promulgated, and the instrument is explicit that delays caused by any authority are not an excuse.

For vehicles bought and consigned before that promulgation, there is a transitional window: import licences and ZIMRA clearance are available for 30 days from the date this notice is published (12 July 2024).

Three categories are exempt from the ten-year limit entirely — vehicles in deceased estates (inherited vehicles), vehicles of diplomats returning from postings abroad, and returning residents. The explanatory note narrows this: it applies only to used vehicles imported by diplomats and returning residents who are granted immigration rebates by ZIMRA under the Customs and Excise Act [Chapter 23:02], and they must meet all the eligibility requirements of the immigrant rebate programme.

One oddity worth flagging: the instrument is expressed as being made under section 4(1) of the 1974 Commerce Regulations themselves (Rhodesia Government Notice 766 of 1974) rather than directly under the Control of Goods Act, and the numbering of the inserted provisions is irregular.