Section 130 of the General Regulations as read with section 120 (1)(b) of the Act provides for a rebate of duty on used personal and household effects imported by persons residing in Zimbabwe who have inherited the goods upon the death of a person because of either –

            (i)        a bequest(will) made by that person; or

            (ii)       the intestacy (distribution by court execution) of that person.

 

Who benefits from the inheritance rebate of duty?

The beneficiary of the rebate is any person residing in Zimbabwe who inherits goods upon the death of a person because of a will or intestacy of that person. In both these cases the applicant shall produce proof of entitlement to the inheritance in the form of an official or notarial certified copy of the will (in the case of a bequest) or a certificate from a duly constituted court of the country where the deceased died in (in the case of intestacy).

 

Qualifying Goods

  • used personal and household effects including one motor vehicle or one motorcycle.
  • Motor Vehicle: means a vehicle admissible under customs tariff heading numbers 8702 (for vehicles carrying ten or more passengers), 8703 (Passenger vehicles including sedans and station wagons) and 8704 (goods carrying vehicles e.g. pickups) provided that vehicles of Tariff heading 8702 do not cover vehicles designed to carry 15 or more people including the driver and that vehicles of tariff heading 8704 do not have a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) exceeding 5 tonnes.
  • Goods for commercial or trade purposes shall not qualify for clearance under this Rebate

 

Conditions governing the inheritance rebate

  • Importer to sign a certificate to the effect that goods are for own use and will not be disposed of within 12 months of the date of clearance under rebate.
  • No beneficiary of the rebate shall sell, offer for sale, lease, hire, lend, pledge or dispose of in any manner or otherwise, whether gratuitously, goods cleared under rebate, without prior written authority from the Commissioner of Customs and Excise.

 

Inheritance Rebate Clearance

Beneficiaries of this Rebate must present the following supporting documents during the interview process:

  1. Notarial certified copy of the will or
  2. Certificate of distribution from the court in the country where the deceased died
  3. Documents proving ownership of the motor vehicle by the deceased e.g. registration book
  4. Police Clearance in the case of vehicles.
  5. List of all goods to be cleared under this rebate

Goods cleared under the inheritance rebate are cleared on the following forms:

Form 180 – Other goods other than motor vehicles.

Form 181 – Motor vehicles, vehicles caravan etc.

My Taxes, My Duties: Building my Zimbabwe

 

Inheritance Rebate published on 18/09/2025.

 

Disclaimer

This article was compiled by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority for information purposes only. ZIMRA shall not accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from use of material in this article and no liability will attach to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority.

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