Importing Research Materials into Zimbabwe: MCAZ and ZIMRA

Which Zimbabwean authority has a say over a research reagent consignment, what does MCAZ's import regime actually cover, and what does ZIMRA need at the border?

Two Zimbabwean authorities can have a say over a research consignment. The Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe, MCAZ, regulates medicines and allied substances under the Medicines and Allied Substances Control Act. The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, ZIMRA, clears every consignment through customs, assesses duty and tax, and holds the goods until the paperwork is in order ^[1][4][5].

The published MCAZ import pages describe licences for registered medicines, controlled substances and precursors. They do not name research reagents as a category. The MCAZ route that some importers have heard of, authorisation under Section 75 for unregistered medicines, is for named patients or hospitals and is not a research route. For a research consignment, the reliable first step is to ask MCAZ in writing how it treats the specific material, and the second is to prepare ZIMRA's documents in full.

The two authorities: MCAZ for medicines, ZIMRA for customs

MCAZ is a statutory body created to regulate medicines and allied substances. Its licensing and enforcement pages set out the licences and permits it issues, including the import and export function ^[1][2]. Its authority comes from the Medicines and Allied Substances Control Act [Chapter 15:03], which is available through FAOLEX ^[4].

ZIMRA is the customs and revenue authority. Its published customs clearance procedures describe how a consignment is declared, assessed and released, and the role of a registered clearing agent ^[5]. ZIMRA decides on duty, tax and release. It does not decide whether the goods are medicines.

The two can interact. If ZIMRA officers consider that goods fall within MCAZ's remit, the consignment may be referred to MCAZ before release. The sensible sequence for an institution is therefore to settle the MCAZ question first, in writing, so that the answer travels with the shipment.

What MCAZ's import licences cover

On the pages reviewed for this article on 9 October 2026, MCAZ's import and export page described licensing for registered medicines, controlled substances and precursor chemicals ^[1]. Its licensing page describes the licence types the Authority issues to premises and persons ^[2]. A 2017 draft of MCAZ's import and export guideline circulates on a mirror site ^[3]. It is a draft marked Rev 0 and should not be treated as the current rule. Read the live pages, because MCAZ may revise them.

The absence of a named category is not the same as an exemption. It means the published pages do not answer the question, and an importer who assumes the answer is taking a risk with the consignment.

Section 75 and why it is not a research route

Section 75 of the Act, as MCAZ presents it, is a mechanism for authorising the import of medicines that are not registered in Zimbabwe, for use by named patients or by hospitals ^[1][4]. Its purpose is access to a treatment that is otherwise unavailable.

A research laboratory is neither a named patient nor a hospital, and a research reagent is not presented as a treatment. Applying under Section 75 for a research consignment would misdescribe the purpose of the import. It could prompt questions about the application, and it is not a basis on which the material can responsibly be brought in. Do not use it as a workaround.

Where research reagents sit under the Act

The Act regulates medicines and allied substances, and its definitions determine what falls within MCAZ's remit ^[4]. Whether a particular research material is caught depends on how the Act defines those terms and on what the material is. That is a legal reading and it belongs to the institution's legal officer or to MCAZ.

What an importer can do is make the question easy to answer. Write to MCAZ on the institution's letterhead. Identify the institution and the person responsible. Describe the material by its chemical or catalogue identity. State that it is supplied for laboratory research use only and is not intended for administration. Ask whether an import permit or any other authorisation is required. Keep the reply with the shipment file. For the meaning of the research label, see what research-use-only means.

ZIMRA customs clearance

ZIMRA's published procedures describe declaration through a registered clearing agent, assessment of duty and tax, and release on payment and documentary compliance ^[5]. Plan for the standard commercial set.

1. A commercial invoice naming supplier and consignee, with a precise description of each item, quantity, unit value and currency.
2. A packing list that matches the invoice line by line.
3. The transport document: an airway bill, bill of lading or road consignment note.
4. The importer's registration details with ZIMRA, and a clearing agent's authority to act.
5. Any MCAZ reply, permit or letter that bears on the goods.
6. Proof of payment for duty and tax when assessed.

Valuation follows the transaction value on the invoice, so an invoice that understates or vaguely describes the goods creates risk rather than saving cost. The classification of the goods in the tariff is a separate question from the MCAZ question. A precise description helps both.

Institutional importers: letterhead applications and end-user naming

Authorities in the region commonly expect an institutional importer to apply on letterhead and to name an end user and a responsible officer. Whether MCAZ requires this for a given material is for MCAZ to say. A letter prepared in that form is good practice in any case: it shows who is responsible for the material when it arrives and where it will be kept.

The companion article on end-user declarations and institutional letters sets out the fields such a letter contains. Keep a copy with the import file and give the clearing agent another.

Currency, payment and the order of events

Paying a foreign supplier from a Zimbabwean account involves foreign-currency arrangements that change over time. This article does not state a rate or a limit. Confirm with the institution's bank which documents it will require before it releases funds, and obtain them before the order is confirmed.

The order of events that avoids most problems is straightforward. Settle the MCAZ question in writing. Confirm payment arrangements with the bank. Brief the clearing agent. Only then ask the supplier to book freight.

Checklist before the supplier books freight

• A written reply, or a recorded phone call and follow-up note, from MCAZ about the material.
• A named clearing agent with ZIMRA authority.
• An invoice description that states what the goods are, with no vague terms.
• A bank confirmation of the documents needed for payment.
• A named receiving officer and a storage location ready at the laboratory.