Zimra’s Electronic Temporary Import Vehicles Permits (eTIPs) Decongests Beitbridge Border

Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) Commissioner for Customs and Excise, Mr Batsirai Chadzingwa has said Zimra embraced digitisation in their services to enhance efficiency.

Zimra’s Electronic Temporary Import Vehicles Permits (eTIPs) have Decongested the Beitbridge Border

From time immemorial, Traffic in Beitbridge has been a Disaster.

“It is pleasing to note that many travellers are now embracing the use of our digital platforms, which has helped in terms of improving the flow of traffic at Beitbridge Border Post and other land borders,” said the Commissioner for Customs and Excise.

“On the commercial side, the pre-clearance system is also doing wonders as we are now able to clear all trucks arriving at the ports of entry in less than three hours. To speed up the flow of traffic at the border, we have opened mores service points to cater for all types of traffic and deployed adequate manpower.”

Zimra Commissioner Chadzingwa said they also created dedicated counters for those arriving at the port with processed eTIPs including those yet to start the processes at the border.

The Commissioner for Customs and Excise added that the separation of traffic has helped tackle congestion following an increase in the volume of traffic ahead of the impending Christmas holiday.

Chadzingwa urged those arriving in foreign registered vehicles to utilise the eTIPs system to avoid delays at the border.

“We also want to thank the Government for upgrading Beitbridge Border Post, which has helped to improve our capacity to facilitate regional and international trade through the separation of traffic. That separation has contributed a lot to improved service delivery on our part considering the huge volumes of traffic we are handling now,” he said.

The Commissioner said the new order of business has improved their capacity to collect revenue from import and export levies following a reduction in the number of intrusive leakages.

Chadzingwa said they have also intensified issues around compliance with Covid-19 operational procedures to minimise the recurrence of infections during the holiday period.

Many travellers lauded Zimra for introducing the eTIPs platform, saying it has helped reduce criminality at the border during peak periods.

“We are happy to note that this new eTIPs platform has eliminated the use of conmen who used to dupe many motorists pretending to be helping them process the TIPs. This time, I was able to process my documents in a clearly defined procedure,” said one traveller.

One visitor was impressed with the operations at the border post and said: “This is a good investment that our Government has done in terms of the services, buildings, ablution facilities, roads and general outlook of the border post.”

Another said although the eTIP system is a smart move by the Government, there is need to increase awareness on the availability of the platform.

This introduction of the electronic temporary import vehicles permits (eTIPs) by the Zimbabwepp Revenue Authority including the separation of traffic lanes has helped ease the traffic congestion at the modernised Beitbridge Border Post.

Beitbridge Border Post has been synonymous with congestion during peak periods resulting in travellers spending days in queues waiting to be cleared attributed to poor infrastructure and inadequate human resources to handle increased seasonal traffic.

Use of the pre-clearance system for cargo has also helped reduce hours spent by haulage truck drivers at the border while waiting to be cleared. Truckers in the past spent days in the queues, but with the new pre-clearance system, they are now spending only three hours.

The current customs standard operation procedure (SOP),will see motorists entering the country driving foreign registered vehicles required to initiate the clearance process online before arrival at the border post.

On arrival, they then acquit the details using an online-generated reference number, which is then checked forp compliance purposes.

This border clearance process has helped cut time spent at the border post depending on the availability of all the requisite documentation.

Famous light cross-border transporters also known as omalayitsha are getting eTIPs valid for 90 days instead of the usual 30 days. This allows them to enter and leave the country multiple times with minimal challenges.Nevertheless, ordinary motorists are still getting the normal 30 days.