VAT Returns Categories Ac Notice 11 2026

ZIMRA's Public Notice 11 of 2026, issued on 7 February 2026, advises all Category A and Category C VAT operators that their combined VAT returns for the period ending January 2026 are due for submission and payment in February 2026. The notice also introduces a critical update regarding the processing of input tax deductions from 1 January 2026, confirming that manual input tax schedules have been discontinued in favour of automatic population from the Fiscalisation Data Management System (FDMS).

Return and Payment Deadlines — February 2026

FDMS Input Tax Auto-Population: Key Change from 1 January 2026

With effect from 1 January 2026, ZIMRA has discontinued the practice of operators manually submitting input tax schedules as supporting documents with their VAT returns. Instead, input tax deductions are automatically populated into the taxpayer's VAT return on TaRMS from the Invoice Management Module, which draws its data from the Fiscalisation Data Management System (FDMS).

The FDMS is ZIMRA's centralised electronic system that receives fiscal invoice data in real time from registered taxpayers' fiscalised point-of-sale (POS) devices and electronic tax registers. Every fiscal invoice issued by a registered supplier is captured in FDMS with the buyer's TIN, the invoice amount, the VAT charged, and the date of supply. When a VAT-registered buyer logs into TaRMS to file their return, the Invoice Management Module retrieves all fiscal invoices issued to that buyer's TIN and presents them as pre-populated input tax claims.

Qualifying Input Tax: “Valid” FDMS Status Required

Only invoices that carry a “Valid” status in FDMS qualify for input tax deduction. An invoice may fail to achieve Valid status for any of the following reasons:

• The supplier's fiscal device transmitted incorrect or incomplete invoice data to FDMS;
• The buyer's TIN was captured incorrectly or not captured at all on the fiscal invoice;
• The invoice relates to a supply that is exempt from VAT or zero-rated, and therefore carries no VAT component; or
• The supplier is not registered for FDMS or their device is not FDMS-compatible.

Registered operators who find that certain purchases are not appearing in their Invoice Management Module should contact the supplier and request that the correct TIN be applied on the fiscal invoice, and that the supplier verify the FDMS transmission status of the invoice.

Fiscal Device Compliance at All POS

ZIMRA has reiterated that all VAT-registered operators must ensure that every point-of-sale location is equipped with an FDMS-compatible fiscalised device. Operators who are still using legacy fiscal devices that do not transmit data to FDMS are in breach of the fiscalisation requirements and risk having their output tax figures rejected and their input tax claims disallowed. Operators uncertain about the FDMS compatibility of their devices should contact ZIMRA's Fiscalisation Unit or their device service provider.

Output Tax Back-Calculation for Category A

Category A operators filing the combined December 2025 / January 2026 return must apply the correct back-calculation formula for output tax as detailed in Public Notice 07 of 2026. For January 2026 supplies (taxed at 15.5%), the formula is:

Output Tax = VOS × 15.5 ÷ 100

For December 2025 supplies (taxed at 15%), operators should apply: Output Tax = VOS × 15 ÷ 100. Where the combined return cannot easily separate December and January supplies, operators should apply their best estimate and maintain supporting documentation for audit purposes.

Critical Reminder: From 1 January 2026, input tax deductions on TaRMS are auto-populated from FDMS only. No manual input tax schedules are accepted. Ensure your TIN is correctly recorded on all supplier fiscal invoices to secure your input tax entitlement. Category A and C returns for the January 2026 period are due on 10 February 2026, with payment by 15 February 2026.