Zimbabwe’s Sugar Tax and Fast Food Tax do not apply only to Delta, Schweppes, major restaurant chains or large industrial manufacturers. A small business making beverages for sale can fall within the Sugar Tax rules, while a single takeaway, supermarket, hotel or restaurant selling specified foods can fall within the Fast Food Tax regime.
That distinction matters because many smaller businesses do not even think of themselves as manufacturers.
A business may say, “We only make juice.” Another may mix and bottle flavoured drinks from a small production room. Another produces cordials, syrups or other beverages and supplies shops around Harare.
For tax purposes, the question is not whether you own a large factory. The question is what you manufacture, whether it is being produced for sale, and whether the product falls within the legislation.
Zimbabwe Revenue Authority guidance states that a person manufacturing goods liable to excise or surtax must obtain the appropriate licence. The exception ZIMRA describes is production for domestic use rather than production for sale or profit.
That makes Zimbabwe’s Sugar Tax particularly important for the country’s growing number of small beverage producers.
Key Takeaways
- Zimbabwe’s Sugar Tax applies to qualifying beverages containing added sugar, including beverages manufactured locally for commercial sale. Business size is not the deciding factor.
- The general Sugar Tax rate is US$0.001 per gram of added sugar, with qualifying cordials subject to US$0.0005 per gram, based on the current framework set out in the research reviewed for this guide.
- Small beverage businesses can have excise licensing, production-record and monthly surtax obligations, even where they do not consider themselves conventional manufacturers. ZIMRA continues to specifically address manufacturers of beverages containing added sugar in its 2026 notices.
- Zimbabwe’s Fast Foods Tax is currently 1%, not the 0.5% originally announced in the 2025 National Budget. ZIMRA’s subsequent implementation guidance confirms the 1% rate.
- Fast Foods Tax is wider than major restaurant chains. The legislation covers specified foods sold through restaurants, takeaways, supermarkets, retail outlets, hotels and qualifying lodges.
- Fast Foods Tax returns are currently due by the 5th of the following month, with payment due by the 10th.
What is Zimbabwe’s Sugar Tax?
Zimbabwe’s Sugar Tax is formally the Special Surtax on Beverages Sugar Content. It targets specified beverages containing added sugar and is administered within Zimbabwe’s Customs and Excise framework rather than simply through an ordinary annual income-tax return.
The tax was introduced in 2024 following proposals in the 2024 National Budget. The original proposal was considerably higher, but the operational framework ultimately settled at much lower rates.
The current position covered by the research for this guide is:
| Product category | Sugar Tax rate |
|---|---|
| Most qualifying beverages containing added sugar | US$0.001 per gram of added sugar |
| Qualifying non-alcoholic cordials/concentrates | US$0.0005 per gram of added sugar |
The critical phrase is added sugar.
The system is therefore different from a normal percentage-of-sales tax. Liability depends on the formulation of the beverage and the amount of taxable sugar involved.
This creates additional record-keeping requirements.
A beverage producer should be able to establish what is in each product, the quantities produced, the sugar content, product classification and quantities removed from its licensed premises.
ZIMRA’s Public Notice 39 of 2026 confirms that manufacturers of beverages containing added sugar remain within the Special Surtax system. Their returns and payment are due by the 15th day of the month following the month of removal from licensed premises. Payment is processed through a bill of entry, Form 21.
Does Sugar Tax apply to small beverage manufacturers?
Yes. A business does not have to be a major bottling company before manufacturing tax obligations become relevant. If it commercially manufactures a product that falls within the excise or surtax framework, its small size does not automatically exempt it.
This is where we believe many Zimbabwean SMEs have significant exposure.
When people hear the word “manufacturer”, they imagine an industrial plant with production lines, warehouses, laboratories and hundreds of employees.
Tax law does not necessarily care about that image.
Consider these businesses:
- A company mixing flavoured beverages and filling 500ml bottles for supermarkets.
- A small juice producer supplying shops and restaurants.
- A business producing cordials for resale.
- A family-owned operation producing beverages from a small factory or commercial kitchen.
- A business that began making drinks informally and has now developed wholesalers and retail customers.
Those businesses are manufacturing products.
Calling the operation “small-scale production”, “mixing”, “processing” or “making juice” does not automatically remove the underlying tax consequences.
ZIMRA states that a person wishing to manufacture goods liable to excise or surtax must apply to the Commissioner of Customs and Excise for a licence. Its guidance specifically distinguishes commercial manufacture from production for domestic use that is not for sale or profit.
That is the point SME owners need to understand.
There is a difference between being a small manufacturer and not being a manufacturer.
You can be both small and subject to manufacturing compliance.
A worked example for a small Zimbabwean beverage producer
Assume a small Harare beverage company produces and removes 2,000 bottles of a qualifying drink during the month.
Each bottle contains 30 grams of added sugar.
Total taxable added sugar would be:
2,000 bottles × 30 grams = 60,000 grams
At US$0.001 per gram:
60,000 × US$0.001 = US$60 Sugar Tax
US$60 may not initially look significant.
But the bigger issue is not the US$60.
The business must also determine whether its premises should be licensed, maintain the necessary production and formulation records, calculate the liability correctly, file the relevant return and reconcile what was produced and removed from the premises.
If that business has been operating for several years without recognising these obligations, the historical exposure can become much more serious.
If you manufacture drinks for sale but have never reviewed whether your products fall within Zimbabwe’s excise and Special Surtax regime, M&J Consultants can conduct a manufacturing tax compliance review. We map the products, registrations, licences and filing obligations before an audit forces the exercise.
What is Zimbabwe’s Fast Food Tax?
Zimbabwe’s Fast Foods Tax is a 1% surcharge on the sale value of specified fast foods. It has applied since 1 January 2025 and can affect much more than conventional fast-food chains.
The legislation identifies specified fast foods including:
| Specified foods | | Pizza | | Burgers | | Hot dogs | | Shawarma | | Tacos | | French fries | | Chicken | | Doughnuts | | Foods of a substantially similar prescribed nature |
ZIMRA’s implementation guidance confirms that the Fast Foods Tax rate is 1%.
This is worth emphasising because the tax was originally announced at 0.5%.
ZIMRA’s December 2024 notice still reflected the original 0.5% Budget proposal.
The final legislative and administrative position moved to 1%.
Businesses relying on old articles, Budget summaries or early tax alerts can therefore calculate the tax incorrectly.
Does Fast Foods Tax only apply to big restaurants?
No. Zimbabwe’s Fast Foods Tax is based on the operator and products being sold, not the size or fame of the business. A small takeaway can therefore have the same type of Fast Foods Tax obligation as a national restaurant chain.
The statutory definition is particularly important.
A fast food operator can sell specified fast food from a:
- restaurant;
- takeaway;
- supermarket;
- retail outlet;
- hotel; or
- qualifying lodge.
The Finance legislation also provides that the surcharge applies whether the food is pre-packaged or prepared at the premises and whether the customer eats it there or takes it away. For VAT-registered operators, the relevant sale value is inclusive of VAT.
That means a business should not conclude:
“We are not a fast-food restaurant, so this does not concern us.”
A supermarket with a cooked-food section may need to examine its sales.
A small shop selling chips and chicken may need to examine its sales.
A hotel selling covered foods may need to examine its sales.
An independent takeaway with one branch may need to examine its sales.
Again, the legislation is interested in the transaction, not how impressive the business looks from outside.
A small takeaway example
Suppose a takeaway records US$4,000 in taxable sale value from covered fast-food products during a month.
At 1%:
US$4,000 × 1% = US$40 Fast Foods Tax
For a VAT-registered operator, the legislation requires the appropriate VAT-inclusive sale value to be used.
But US$40 is only one part of compliance.
The business must identify taxable products correctly, configure its POS or accounting system, register the relevant tax type and submit its returns.
ZIMRA’s 2026 returns notices show that Fast Foods Tax returns are due by the 5th of the following month, while remittances are due by the 10th.
Why are small businesses particularly exposed?
Small businesses are vulnerable because many grow into regulated activities before their tax systems grow with them. What started as selling a few drinks from home or cooking food for a handful of customers can become a genuine manufacturing or retail operation without anyone reassessing the tax position.
We see this problem repeatedly across SME compliance.
The founder focuses on selling.
Production increases.
More shops begin stocking the product.
A second production location opens.
Someone starts doing bookkeeping.
VAT registration may eventually happen.
But nobody asks a fundamental question:
Has the nature of the business changed enough to create new tax registrations and licences?
Sugar Tax makes this especially dangerous for beverage producers because production information matters.
A manufacturer should have proper records showing formulations, quantities, stock movements and removals.
Running an operation using handwritten production sheets and posting one monthly figure called “Sales” into accounting software is inadequate once specific product taxes become involved.
Fast Foods Tax creates a similar problem at the point of sale.
If every restaurant item is simply coded as “Food”, management may struggle to distinguish taxable specified fast foods from other sales.
Tax compliance therefore becomes a systems problem, not merely an accountant problem.
What should manufacturers and food businesses do now?
Zimbabwean SMEs potentially affected by Sugar Tax or Fast Foods Tax should review their products first, registrations second, systems third and historical filings fourth. Waiting until ZIMRA raises the issue removes many of the options available to management.
Start with these five questions:
- What exactly do we manufacture or sell? List actual products instead of relying on broad categories such as “juice”, “food” or “drinks”.
- Do any beverages contain added sugar? Review formulations and determine whether the Special Surtax rules apply.
- Are we commercially manufacturing a product covered by excise or surtax rules? If yes, review whether the required Customs and Excise licensing arrangements are in place.
- Do we sell pizza, burgers, hot dogs, shawarma, tacos, French fries, chicken, doughnuts or similar taxable products? Determine whether Fast Foods Tax registration and monthly reporting apply.
- Can our accounting and production systems prove our calculations? A tax return is only as reliable as the records behind it.
The worst answer is:
“Our accountant normally deals with tax.”
Your accountant cannot calculate Sugar Tax properly if nobody maintains reliable formulation and production records.
Your accountant cannot accurately calculate Fast Foods Tax if your POS does not separate taxable product categories.
Management has to build the compliance process into the operation.
Conclusion: Small does not mean exempt
Zimbabwe’s Sugar Tax and Fast Food Tax are easy to misunderstand because public discussion usually focuses on major beverage companies and national restaurant brands.
That can give smaller operators false comfort.
A beverage manufacturer does not become a manufacturer only after purchasing a multimillion-dollar production line. A business commercially producing taxable beverages can create manufacturing and surtax obligations while it is still relatively small.
The same principle applies to Fast Foods Tax. One takeaway can have the obligation. A supermarket can have it. A hotel can have it.
As of 2026, ZIMRA continues to actively administer both regimes.
The right question is therefore not, “Are we big enough for this tax?”
Ask:
“Do the products we manufacture or sell fall within the tax?”
That is the question that protects the business.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Zimbabwe Sugar Tax apply to small businesses?
Yes. Small size does not automatically remove a commercial beverage manufacturer from the Special Surtax framework. ZIMRA states that persons manufacturing goods liable to excise or surtax require appropriate licensing, while its domestic-use exception applies where goods are not being produced for sale or profit.
What is the Zimbabwe Sugar Tax rate in 2026?
The research reviewed for this guide places the general rate at US$0.001 per gram of added sugar for affected beverages and US$0.0005 per gram for qualifying cordials. Product classification and formulation should be reviewed before calculating liability.
What is Zimbabwe’s Fast Foods Tax rate?
Zimbabwe’s operative Fast Foods Tax rate is 1% of the relevant sale value. Although the original 2025 Budget announcement referred to 0.5%, ZIMRA subsequently confirmed implementation at 1% through Public Notices issued in 2025.
Does a supermarket pay Fast Foods Tax?
A supermarket can fall within the Fast Foods Tax framework where it sells specified fast foods. The legislation defines a fast food operator broadly enough to include restaurants, takeaways, supermarkets, retail outlets, hotels and qualifying lodges selling covered products.
When is Zimbabwe Fast Foods Tax due?
ZIMRA’s 2026 notices provide for the Fast Foods Tax return to be submitted by the 5th of the following month, with payment by the 10th of the following month. The tax type is administered through ZIMRA’s Self-Service/TaRMS environment.
When is the Sugar Tax return due?
ZIMRA Public Notice 39 of 2026 states that manufacturers of beverages containing added sugar should submit returns and payment by the 15th day of the month following the month of removal from licensed premises. Payment is made through submission of a bill of entry, Form 21.
If you produce beverages, run a takeaway, operate a supermarket food section or sell any of the specified products and are unsure whether these taxes apply, book a Zimbabwe tax compliance review with M&J Consultants. We identify the obligations, check the registrations and show you what needs fixing before the exposure grows.
