Customs and Excise (General) (Amendment) Regulations, 2026 (No. 130)

The Minister of Finance has replaced section 30 of the Customs and Excise (General) Regulations, 2001, which sets out how to apply to be licensed as a clearing agent.

Applicants submit Form No. 64 at each port of entry where they normally do business, with the trading name and principal office address; for a company, certified copies of the certificate of incorporation and memorandum and articles, with the names of all shareholders and directors; for a partnership, a certified partnership agreement and the partners' names; and the names and addresses of every director, partner, manager and employee authorised to act at that port.

Those people must have proof of a minimum diploma-level qualification in customs legislation and procedures, certified by the Ministry responsible for Higher and Tertiary Education, plus experience in customs law and procedure and specimen signatures. Anyone authorised to access the customs computer system also needs a unique identification number issued by ZIMRA.

Applicants must also provide proof of current membership of a recognised clearing, shipping and forwarding professional body with disciplinary powers, evidence of the resources to conduct customs business, a tax identification number and a valid tax clearance certificate. Section 31 is amended to add the unique identification number requirement, and section 2(a) of S.I. 114 of 2017 is repealed.

No commencement date is stated, and the instrument does not say how agents already licensed are treated.