The behavior of defaulting exporters has contributed to the prevailing liquidity crunch in the market. Exports have been significantly lagging behind imports and tight liquidity has also created a lack of competitiveness in the industries.
The RBZ advised exporters that holding export proceeds beyond the statutory period of 90 days from the date of export without Exchange Control authority was regarded as externalisation and therefore a serious violation of Exchange Control Regulations. RBZ has since reviewed administrative penalties on overdue exports.
Exports overdue by 91-120 days light an orange flag and attract a penalty fee of $30 per form. Those overdue by 121-180 days will be flagged red and attract a penalty of $75 per form. A penalty fee of $150 is now applied to exports overdue by more than 180 days, which are also flagged purple. Furthermore, exporters with total overdue export receipts of $150 000 and above will be flagged purple and charged $150 per form. The flagging framework will take effect on February 11.