The government has scrapped import duty on agricultural spraying drones and on heavy electric goods vehicles, while gazetting an updated list of approved printing and packaging manufacturers.
The measures are contained in three new Statutory Instruments published in the Government Gazette on 16 October 2026 by the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion.
Under Statutory Instrument 156 of 2026, the Customs and Excise Tariff has been amended to provide for duty-free importation of unmanned aircraft used for agricultural spraying.
Previously, all unmanned aircraft under Heading 88.06 attracted a 40 percent rate of duty across different weight bands. Under the new notice, the tariff structure has been split into two sub-categories for each weight class – agricultural spraying drones and other drones.
Agricultural spraying drones, ranging from those with a maximum take-off weight of not more than 250 grammes to those exceeding 150 kilogrammes, will now attract 0 percent duty, while the 40 percent duty remains for all other unmanned aircraft for remote-controlled flight.
The move is expected to lower the cost of precision agriculture equipment and support mechanisation.
In Statutory Instrument 159 of 2026, Government has also removed duty on heavy electric trucks. The notice amends Heading 87.04 of the tariff and provides that other goods vehicles exceeding 5 tonnes gross vehicle weight with only an electric motor for propulsion will now attract 0 percent duty, down from 25 percent. The amendment is deemed to have come into effect on 2 March 2026, signalling Government’s push to incentivise e-mobility and green logistics.
Meanwhile, Statutory Instrument 157 of 2026 updates the Customs and Excise (Printing and Packaging) (Suspension) Regulations. The regulations replace the Third Schedule of S.I. 36A of 2026 with a new list of 49 approved printing and packaging manufacturers who qualify for suspension of duty on imported inputs.
The list includes major players such as Zimpapers, Natprint, Hunyani Paper and Packaging, Mega Pak Zimbabwe, Fidelity Printers, Alpha Print, Natpak, Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe and several plastics and labelling companies.
The combined impact of the three measures is expected to lower production costs, accelerate technology adoption and strengthen local value chains.
Collectively, the interventions are aligned to Vision 2030’s thrust of achieving an upper-middle-income economy and to the priorities of the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), which emphasizes agricultural modernization, industrialization, value addition, climate resilience and private sector-led growth
