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Supreme Court
Mota EngenharI Construction SA v Zimbabwe Revenue Authority
[2022] ZWSC 115
Case Details
Court
Supreme Court
Date
31 October 2022
Citation
[2022] ZWSC 115
Judgment No.
SC 115/22
Outcome
unknown
Case Type
Appeal
Bench
Presiding
GWAUNZA DCJ
Author
MWAYERA JA
Full Bench
GWAUNZA DCJMUSAKWA JAMWAYERA JA
Areas of Law
Tax lawAdministrative law
Keywords
Non-Resident Tax on Fees (NRTF)Intra-company paymentsBranch liabilityWithholding taxDouble taxation
Tags
Income taxNon-resident taxWithholding taxBranch taxation
legislation
Statutes Cited
- Income Tax Act
- Income Tax Act
- Income Tax Act
- Income Tax Act
- Income Tax Act
- Companies Act (repealed)
ai analysis
Case Summary
Key Issues
- {"issue_text":"Is a local branch of a foreign company a “person” liable to withhold NRTF under s 30 and the 17th Schedule?","issue_type":"law","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"Branch registered in Zimbabwe; pays fees to non-resident head office"}
- {"issue_text":"Are intra-company payments of technical/managerial fees subject to NRTF?","issue_type":"law","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"Fees paid by branch to head office for services rendered"}
- {"issue_text":"Was the 20% penalty properly imposed?","issue_type":"mixed","dispositive":"no","related_facts":"No prior directive sought; assessments only discovered on audit"}
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background
Facts of the Case
Background
A Portuguese construction company operated in Zimbabwe through a registered branch. The branch paid technical and managerial service fees to its head office in Portugal for 2014-2017 but did not withhold Non-Resident Tax on Fees (NRTF). The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority assessed NRTF of USD 4 404 091.08 plus 20% penalty. The Special Court upheld the assessments; the company appealed.
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