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Zambia Reinstates 15% Export Duty on Precious Gemstones, Shocking Gemfields
Gemfields said the Zambian government revoked the 2019 suspension of the tax with no warning.
The government of Zambia has reinstated a 15 percent export tax on precious gemstones, a move that came as a surprise to Gemfields. The London-based miner has said it plans to lobby against the change.
London—The Zambian government has reinstated the country’s 15 percent export tax on precious gemstones, a move Gemfields said came without warning and one it plans to lobby against.
The new export duty, which took effect Jan. 1, will be applied on top of an existing 6 percent mineral royalty tax.
Gemfields said this will raise the effective tax on revenues at the Kagem emerald mine, which it owns in partnership with the Zambian government’s Industrial Development Corporation, to 21 percent, in addition to a 30 percent corporation tax.
The 15 percent export duty was first introduced in 2019 but suspended later that year following negotiations between the government and the country’s emerald sector.
The government revoked the 2019 duty suspension without notice or consultation, Gemfields said.
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The new export duty, which took effect Jan. 1, will be applied on top of an existing 6 percent mineral royalty tax.
Gemfields said this will raise the effective tax on revenues at the Kagem emerald mine, which it owns in partnership with the Zambian government’s Industrial Development Corporation, to 21 percent, in addition to a 30 percent corporation tax.
The 15 percent export duty was first introduced in 2019 but suspended later that year following negotiations between the government and the country’s emerald sector.
The government revoked the 2019 duty suspension without notice or consultation, Gemfields said.
Zambia is among the world’s three largest emerald exporters along with Brazil and Colombia.
Brazil and Colombia’s aggregate tax on revenues are 2 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively, in addition to corporation taxes of 34 percent and 33 percent, respectively, according to Gemfields.
Gemfields said in 2023, when no export duty was in place, Kagem paid 31 percent of its revenues to the Zambian government in the form of mineral royalties, corporation taxes, and dividends.
Citing the impact the tax could have on sector sustainability and investment attractiveness, the miner said it plans to ask the government to suspend the export duty again.
The company said it is aware of several additional measures introduced in other areas of the economy that could bring in more money for the Zambian government and wouldn’t involve taxing precious stone exports.
As of Dec. 23, Gemfields has suspended emerald mining at Kagem for up to six months due to oversupply in the market.
For now, it has shifted focus to processing ore from Kagem’s ore stockpiles.
In an email to National Jeweler, the miner said despite the suspension, all affected employees will be paid their usual monthly basic salaries pursuant to Zambian law.
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