Customs and Excise (Suspension) (Amendment) Regulations, 2024
For two years from 18 October 2024, licensed importers pay only 15% duty on up to 1 500 000 commercial bus and lorry tyres — but only with an Industry Ministry licence and a signed use declaration.
The Minister of Finance has rewritten the commercial tyre duty concession in section 9EE of the Customs and Excise (Suspension) Regulations, 2003 (S.I. 257 of 2003). The concession runs for two years from the date of publication.
It covers commercial tyres under commodity code 4011.20.90 — new pneumatic tyres of a kind used on buses or lorries. A quantity of 1 500 000 tyres is ringfenced for the concession over the twenty-four month period, and the rate of duty on them is 15%.
Only an approved tyre importer can use it. That means an importer authorised and licensed by the Minister responsible for Industry and Commerce specifically to import commercial tyres under this section. Without that licence the Commissioner shall not grant the concession.
The Commissioner may also refuse the concession where an importer is not tax compliant under section 34C of the Revenue Authority Act [Chapter 23:11]. And on each importation the approved importer must lodge, with the bill of entry, a signed declaration that the tyres are for use on commercial buses and lorries.
One drafting note: the section is headed a suspension of duty, but the operative words set a rate of 15% rather than nil — importers should budget for the 15%, not for a full waiver. The quantity is also printed inconsistently in the body and the schedule ("not exceeding 1,500,000" against "1 500, 000"), though both read as 1.5 million tyres.
What changed
- Section 9EE of S.I. 257 of 2003 is replaced with a new two-year concession running from 18 October 2024
- Duty on qualifying commercial tyres is set at 15%
- A ringfenced quantity of 1 500 000 tyres under code 4011.20.90 is eligible over the twenty-four months
- The concession is limited to importers licensed by the Minister responsible for Industry and Commerce
- The Commissioner may refuse the concession for non-compliance with section 34C of the Revenue Authority Act
- Each entry must be accompanied by a signed declaration that the tyres are for commercial buses and lorries
Who this affects
- licensed commercial tyre importers
- bus and haulage operators buying tyres
- clearing agents entering goods under code 4011.20.90
- ZIMRA customs officers assessing tyre imports
- the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, which issues the licences
Plain-language summary — not legal advice. Always read the full instrument.