ZIMRA's Public Notice 23 of 2026 advises all VAT registered operators in Categories A and C and appointed Digital Services Tax (DST) withholding agents that returns for the period ended 31 March 2026 are due on or before 10 April 2026, in terms of Statutory Instrument 81 of 2025 and the Finance Act 7 of 2025. Payments are due on or before 15 April 2026.
Submission of VAT Returns
- VAT returns must be completed in full and submitted online on the Tax and Revenue Management System (TaRMS) Self-Service Portal at mytaxselfservice.zimra.co.zw.
- Where the registered operator has had VAT withheld by an appointed VAT Withholding Agent, the relevant Value Added Withholding Tax Certificate Schedules must be attached to the VAT Return in support of the credit.
Claiming Input Tax — New FDMS-Driven Workflow
For tax periods effective 1 January 2026 and beyond, the rules for claiming input tax have changed materially:
- No more manual Input Tax Schedules for VAT Tax Returns — unless specifically approved by the Commissioner.
- Fiscal Tax Invoices for claiming input tax will auto-populate from the ZIMRA Fiscalisation Data Management System (FDMS) and become available for claiming under the Invoice Management Module in TaRMS.
- Only invoices that show "Valid" on the FDMS Validation Portal, with correct buyer details transmitted to FDMS, will be accepted as the basis for an input tax claim — per the definition of "Fiscal Tax Invoice" in the Finance Act 7 of 2025.
- Fiscal Tax Invoices must comply with Section 20(4) of the VAT Act and have accurate buyer details transmitted to FDMS at the time of issue.
Practical implication: if your supplier issued an invoice with the wrong buyer TIN/name and the invoice did not validate on FDMS at issue, you will not be able to claim the input tax in TaRMS regardless of the physical invoice in your hand. Buyers should check FDMS validation status routinely and request reissuance of any non-validated invoice immediately.
VAT Rate — Now 15.5%
The Notice confirms that the VAT rate is now 15.5%. All VAT registered operators must ensure that every Point of Sale operated by the business is installed with and uses compliant Fiscal Devices — either hardware fiscal machines or virtual applications/systems approved by the Commissioner — that are interfaced with FDMS to record every sales transaction in real time.
Submission of Digital Services Tax (DST) Returns
Appointed withholding agents for DST should note that:
- The DST return form is not yet configured for online submission in TaRMS — all returns must be submitted manually at the nearest ZIMRA office.
- The prescribed form is downloadable from the ZIMRA Domestic Taxes Downloads page.
- DST payments continue to be made through the Single Account System.
Outstanding Returns and Late Filing
All taxpayers with outstanding returns are reminded to submit them without further delay; late submission attracts penalties, interest and prosecutions. Returns must be completed in full, submitted on time, and tax payments remitted in full in the currency of trade.
VAT & DST returns — due 10 April 2026; payment 15 April 2026. The new VAT rate is 15.5%. Input tax can no longer be claimed via manual schedules — only via FDMS-validated Fiscal Tax Invoices auto-populated into TaRMS. DST returns are still manual at the ZIMRA office. Verify your supplier invoices show "Valid" on FDMS before claiming.