Harare — Cabinet has approved a new set of reductions to business licence fees and levies as part of the government’s ongoing push to improve the ease of doing business in Zimbabwe.
The latest approval, announced on Tuesday, extends the Mop-Up Review of Licences, Permits, Levies and Fees to sectors that were not covered in the first phase of reforms. Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said the review now includes agriculture, education, transport, sport and the natural stone export subsector.
The earlier phase, which covered 13 priority sectors, was approved in July 2025. Ncube told reporters after the Cabinet meeting that the new measures will remove duplicated or overlapping licences, scrap unnecessary levies, and lower unjustifiably high fees.
Among the specific changes, the industrial hemp registration and application fees under the Agricultural Marketing Authority and the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe will be reduced. The Sport and Recreation Commission’s 6 percent gate takings levy will be cut by half, while the Zimbabwe Football Association’s 6 percent match-day revenue levy will also be halved. The Premier Soccer League’s levy on net match-day income will drop from 10 percent to 4 percent.
Local authorities will see their venue hire levy reduced from 15 percent to 10 percent of total gross attendance, and outdoor advertising fees will be capped at US$2.50 per square metre. Cemetery entry fees are to be abolished.
The government is expected to publish a full schedule of the specific licences and fees that have been reduced or removed.
