By Patience Gondo
The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) will refund motorists who were charged old vehicle registration and licensing fees after Government reduced tariffs through Statutory Instrument 10 of 2026.
Statutory Instrument 10 of 2026 was gazetted on Monday
January 12 2026 introducing significant reductions in the cost of number plates and related services.
Following its publication, ZIMRA and relevant stakeholder institutions immediately began aligning their operational systems with the new provisions.
Responding to media inquiries , ZIMRA Marketing and Corporate Affairs Executive, Gladman Njanji said a brief transitional period was required to ensure all systems were accurately updated and compliant with the new statutory fees.
“As the implementation of the new fees required system configuration and validation there was a brief transitional period to ensure all platforms were accurately updated. This process has now been completed and the systems are fully reflecting the revised fees,” said Njanji.
He said ZIMRA is currently conducting a verification exercise to identify instances where the old fees may have been applied after the statutory instrument came into effect.
“Where such cases are confirmed, affected clients will be duly refunded in line with standard procedures and in compliance with Statutory Instrument 10 of 2026,”He said.
The refunds follow Government’s move to substantially lower the cost of vehicle registration and licensing as part of efforts to ease the financial burden on motorists and improve access to vehicle registration services.
Under the amended regulations, first time motor vehicle registration fees have been reduced from between US$100 and US$500 to a flat US$50. First-time motorcycle registration and initial trailer registration now also cost US$50.
Personalised number plates remain premium priced, with vehicles of 1 500cc and below costing US$2 500, while those above 1 500cc attract a fee of US$5 000.
The new law, promulgated by Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development Felix Mhona repeals Part One of the Third Schedule to the Vehicle Registration and Licensing Regulations of 1999 and revises several other charges.
Change of ownership for a motor vehicle now costs US$95 when new plates are issued or US$15 if old plates are retained. For motorcycles and trailers, change of ownership costs US$85 with new plates and US$15 when plates are retained.
Replacement of lost passenger service vehicle (PSV) number plates now costs US$85, while replacement of a PSV trailer number plate costs US$80. A duplicate third plate costs US$35, a garage number plate US$50, with a garage licence also set at US$50. An abnormal load plate now costs US$50.
ZIMRA has encouraged motorists who believe they were affected by the application of old fees after January 12 to engage the authority as the verification and refund process continues.