Electronic Temporary Importation Permit (E-TIP) explained

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) administers a rebate of duty, which is granted to foreign registered vehicles not intended for consumption in Zimbabwe and temporarily imported into the country by a tourist for his own personal use, but not for disposal, trade or commercial purposes.

These vehicles are imported under a Temporary Import Permit for visitors' vehicle (TIP).

The rebate is granted in terms of Section 120 of the Customs and Excise Act [Chapter 23:02] as read with Section 104 of the Customs and Excise (General) regulations, published in Statutory Instrument 154 of 2001.

It is meant to cater for visitors, including Zimbabwean citizens living abroad who come home to visit. Some will bring their foreign registered vehicles for ease of travelling from one place to another within Zimbabwe.

Previously, travellers applied for the TIP at the ports of entry through a manual process. This caused inconveniences and delays since travellers had to join queues in order to apply for the temporary import permits.

In a bid to bring convenience to travellers, ZIMRA has developed an application, which will enable travellers to apply for temporary import permits online and in the comfort of their homes and offices, prior to travelling to Zimbabwe. This application enables travellers to cut down on time they spend at the border posts trying to access the temporary import permit.

Once you have downloaded the application from Google Play Store, you select sign up if you do not have an e-TIP account. A page will pop up and that is where you input your details including name, surname, passport number, email address and password. After putting these details, you click submit soon after which a dialogue box confirming your registration is displayed. The dialogue box will confirm that a message has been send to the email address you would have inputted during the registration process.

To complete the e-TIP application process, you have to activate your account using the activation code sent on your email. Once you have activated your account, you can log on to your e-TIP app using your passport number as the username and punch in your password.

NB: The process of creating an e-TIP account is similar for an individual who decides to download the app from the Google app store and those who decide to visit the e-TIP webpage.

How to apply for the TIP online:
Once you have an account, you simply have to log on to the e-TIP portal using your passport number and password. Once you are in, you select "New e-TIP application". You fill in the fields with the requested information, which includes the driver's information, vehicle information, trailer information if you have any, vehicle owner's information if the person driving is not the owner and any other information about the goods you are carrying.

After filling the required information, the applicant then clicks the submit button for the application to go through. An auto-generated message will be sent to your email informing you that your application has been successfully submitted and gives you your e-TIP Reference Number to be submitted to the ZIMRA officer at your port of entry on the day of travelling to Zimbabwe.

It, therefore, means that travellers can save on time spent at the border trying to obtain a temporary import permit (TIP), thereby bringing convenience to the travelling public.

To get a more comprehensive step-by-step process of applying for e-TIP, you can access a document on the ZIMRA website.