This archive report was first published on 19 December 2019.
On December 19, 2019, Zambia's finance minister, Bwalya Ng'andu, revealed that the country would be suspending a 15% export duty on gemstones, effective from January 1.
The decision comes after the upfront tax was found to have negatively impacted production, with the industry 'bleeding' and output falling, according to Ng'andu.
The export duty still applies to diamonds, but the suspension of the duty on gemstones is seen as a concession to miners, who had been critical of the tax.
South African gemstone miner Gemfields Group Ltd welcomed the move, which is part of a broader effort by the Zambian government to address concerns from the mining industry.
As Africa's second-largest copper producer, Zambia has been grappling with high levels of debt and low growth, leading to increased taxes on miners.
However, pushback from the industry has already forced the government to roll back plans to replace its value-added tax with a non-refundable sales tax, another point of contention between miners and the state.
