The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) aims to reduce the time spent by travellers obtaining vehicle Temporary Import Permits (TIP) at the country’s border posts from five to three minutes.

This will be enabled by the Electronic Temporary Import Permit (eTIP) project, which was launched last year, and enables travellers to apply for vehicle TIPs online and in the comfort of their homes and offices, prior to travelling to Zimbabwe.

ZIMRA Commissioner General, Faith Mazani, says the authority has received praise from travellers who were used to spending hours at Beitbridge, but with the implementation of the system, this time was reduced to less than 30 minutes. “The eTIP allows travellers to pre-clear their vehicles online, thereby reducing congestion, which often acts as a bottleneck to our travellers and tourists. We are now working on improving the eTIP so that visitors spend an average of three to five minutes to get their temporary import permit processed. This will enhance efficiency, but also allow a more prompt movement of visitors, thereby enhancing our country’s tourism sector,” she says.

Mazani says the eTIP project has been very successful in managing issues of border congestion, particularly at the very busy and biggest inland border post, Beitbridge, over this past festive season.

She says use of ICT products and systems such as scanners at ports of entry and exit, cargo tracking devices, online systems and other innovative products, contributed immensely to smooth travel and trade.

Zimbabwe receives a significant number of tourists annually through border posts such as Kazungula, Victoria Falls and Beitbridge daily.