Zim introduces Cannabis Levy | Medical Marijuana Program Connection

Prosper Ndlovu, Business Editor

THE Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube, has proposed to introduce a new cannabis levy to widen the revenue base as the country looks forward to increasing exportation of medical cannabis.

The new measure was announced by the minister in his 2021 National Budget statement, which was presented in Parliament yesterday.

“Cannabis (mbanje/imbanje) production has immense potential to generate export receipts and tax revenues. The potential value of cannabis exports for medicinal purposes is estimated at about US$1.25 billion for the year 2021,” said Prof Ncube.

“I, therefore, propose to introduce a Cannabis Levy, chargeable on the value of exports, at the following varied rates of tax that correspond to the level of processing: 10 percent on the export sales value of finished packaged medicinal cannabis oils that are ready for resale, 15 percent on the export sales values of bulk extracted medicinal cannabis oils that require further processing and/ or packaging and 20 percent on the export sales value of dried medicinal cannabis flowers.”