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Investment Clarified
A
few weeks ago it was reported that the requirement for an Investment
Licence in Zambia would be increasing from US$50,000 to US$500,000.
My initial reaction was ‘hang on, are small businesses, which
usually employ quite a number of people, not needed? Are they
crazy?’
Subsequent to this, I received reports of investors being turned
away by the Immigration Department when trying to renew of their
self-employment permits, being told that they have to upgrade their
investment to US$500,000 or leave the country. Some were showed a
circular which stated this. When asked for a copy of the circular,
staff at the Immigration Department refused, saying that it was an
internal memo. Clearly clarification was needed, so we spoke with a
couple of people at the Investment Centre. Because of deadlines
looming, we did not manage to speak with any official from the
Immigration Department, despite attempts to do so.
Yes, there is now a requirement to invest US$ 500,000 if,
repeat if, you wish to be given various incentives. These
incentives include a self-employment permit (still to be renewed
every two years), the ability to buy property, duty-free and
deferred VAT on capital goods and tax holidays. There are also some
industry-specific incentives.
However, people investing less than US$ 50,000 are still welcome to
invest and will also be given investor status, and the incentives
which they already enjoy, including the ability to purchase property
are still available. So, no, they are not crazy.
However, at the time of going to press, the situation remains
unresolved as regards the Immigration Department who are still not
renewing permits but meetings and discussions are being held between
the two departments and the relevant ministries. We hope to
report further on this and to give you full details of the situation
in the next issue of The Lowdown. If you have any specific questions
which you need answered, please
contact us and we
will attempt to have them answered.
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February
2007