Introduction to Capital Gains Tax

Capital gains tax is triggered by a sale of a specified asset — but a literal sale for cash is only the most obvious trigger. If CGT could be avoided simply by transferring an asset in a way that is not technically a sale — by gifting it, by letting it be taken in execution, by allowing a security to mature, by ceding rights rather than transferring title — the tax would be trivially easy to escape. To prevent this, the Capital Gains Tax Act [Chapter 23:01] contains a code of deemed sales: events that the Act treats as if they were sales so that the gain is brought into charge. This lesson is devoted to that code — principally Section 8(2)(b) to (h) (the deemed-disposal categories), together with Section 13 (damage or destruction), Section 20 (recovery of the cost of an unsold asset), and the foreign-exchange timing rule in Section 8(2)(a). The valuation of a deemed sale is governed by the fair market price rules (the Commissioner's opinion under Section 8(2)(b)/(e), and Section 14).

The flagship provision is Section 8(2)(b): where a person disposes of a specified asset otherwise than by way of sale, the disposal is deemed to be a sale and an amount equal to the fair market price of the asset (in the Commissioner's opinion) is deemed to have accrued at the time of disposal. This single rule catches gifts, donations, distributions in specie, and transfers at an undervalue. It produces a striking result confirmed in R (Pvt) Ltd v ZIMRA 19-HH-792: a taxpayer who receives no cash at all (a pure gift) can nonetheless owe CGT, computed on the asset's market value. The remaining deemed sales address specific situations: (c) expropriation (deemed sold for the compensation, with a carve-out for persons under the Global Compensation Deed); (d) sale in execution of a court order; (e) maturity or redemption of a security; (f) transfer of a person's rights under a deed of sale (anti-flipping); (g) cession of rights in a residential, commercial or industrial stand; and (h) relinquishment of a membership interest in a condominium.

Two further provisions extend the deemed-sale idea to involuntary and partial events. Section 13 treats damage or destruction of a specified asset as a deemed sale for the amount of any receipt or accrual (e.g. insurance proceeds), but provides two safety valves: a cost-base-reduction rule where the receipt does not exceed the cost base (Section 13(2)), and a two-year replacement rollover that defers the charge to the extent the receipt is spent on a replacement or repair (Section 13(3)–(4)). Section 20 does the same for a recovery or recoupment relating to the cost of an asset that has not been sold: if the recovery exceeds the Section 11(2)(a)+(b) cost base, the asset is deemed sold; if not, the cost base is reduced.

Every deemed sale still flows through the ordinary CGT funnel and rate rules: the deemed proceeds become the gross capital amount (Section 8(1)(a)), exemptions (Section 10) and deductions (Section 11) apply, and the rate is keyed to the acquisition date (Finance Act Section 38: 5% of gross for assets acquired before 22 February 2019; 20% of the gain for assets acquired on or after that date), in the currency of the gain (Finance Act Section 39A). The danger of a deemed sale is the cash-flow trap: tax falls due on a transaction that may have produced little or no money, so taxpayers who gift, restructure, or suffer expropriation can face a real tax bill from a non-cash event. This lesson builds on cgtdisposalofassets (the disposal trigger generally), cgtspecifiedassets (what is a specified asset), calculationofcapitalgains and cgtdeductions (the computation), and ratesofcapitalgains (the rate).

The charging logic of CGT, set out in introductiontocapitalgains and cgtdisposalofassets, is that tax attaches to the sale of a specified asset. The word "sale" carries its ordinary meaning — a transfer of ownership for a price. But human and commercial life is full of ways to move an asset to someone else without a price changing hands or without a conventional sale: a parent gifts a flat to a child; a company distributes land to its shareholders; a debtor's house is sold in execution by the Sheriff; a bond matures and is redeemed; a developer cedes the rights to a stand; an investor relinquishes a condominium interest. If each of these escaped CGT merely because it was not a textbook "sale," the tax would be a dead letter — anyone facing a CGT bill would simply restructure the disposal into a non-sale form.

The law's answer is the deemed sale: a statutory instruction to treat a non-sale event as if it were a sale, so that the accrued gain is taxed. This is an application of the substance-over-form principle that runs through Zimbabwean revenue law (compare the income-tax anti-avoidance code in itctransferpricing). The deeming does two things at once: it identifies a disposal event that would otherwise not be a sale, and it supplies a value for that event — usually the fair market price — because there is no negotiated price to use.

Deemed sales matter enormously in practice and in examinations because they are where non-cash transactions become taxable. A gift feels like a generous act with no tax consequence; Section 8(2)(b) says otherwise. An expropriation feels like a loss imposed on the owner; Section 8(2)(c) taxes the compensation. A fire feels like pure misfortune; Section 13 can tax the insurance payout. The unifying theme — and the thing to teach a beginner first — is that CGT taxes the realisation of a gain, and "realisation" is defined widely enough to include events that produce no ordinary sale price. ZIMRA audits these events closely precisely because taxpayers routinely overlook them.

Section 8(2)(a) — the foreign-exchange timing rule (the baseline)

Before the deemed sales, Section 8(2)(a) addresses timing where currency moves: where, owing to an exchange-rate variation, the amount received (in Zimbabwean currency) differs from the amount that accrued before the variation, the amount included in the gross capital amount is the amount received; and if receipt and accrual fall in different years, the increase or reduction is given effect in the year of accrual. This is the mirror of the deduction-side FX proviso in Section 11(1) (see cgtdeductions) and underlies the currency mechanics of every disposal.

Section 8(2)(b) — disposal otherwise than by sale (the flagship deemed sale)

"Where a person disposes of a specified asset otherwise than by way of sale such disposal shall be deemed to be a sale and an amount which, in the opinion of the Commissioner, is equal to the fair market price of such asset at the time of disposal shall be deemed to have accrued to such person at such time." This is the anti-avoidance keystone. It catches:

• Gifts and donations (transfer for no consideration);
• Distributions in specie (e.g. a company distributing an asset to shareholders);
• Transfers at an undervalue (a "sale" at less than market value is, to the extent of the shortfall, a disposal otherwise than by full sale; and Section 14 lets the Commissioner substitute the fair market price — see below).

There is a proviso: Section 8(2)(b) does not apply to the donation by a company (or group of companies) of immovable property to an approved employee housing trust fund (inserted by Finance Act (No.6) 2006, w.e.f. 1 September 2006) — a policy carve-out encouraging employee housing.

The valuation is the fair market price in the Commissioner's opinion. Because that is a Commissioner determination, it is one of the matters a taxpayer may object to under Section 25 (see cgtobjectionsandappeals), and where a purchase or sale is at other than market price the Commissioner may substitute the fair market price under Section 14.

Section 8(2)(c) — expropriation

"Where a specified asset is expropriated such specified asset shall be deemed to have been sold for an amount equal to the amount paid by way of compensation for the expropriation." So a compulsory acquisition is a deemed sale, taxed on the compensation received. A proviso (substituted by Finance Act 13/2023, w.e.f. 1 January 2024) excludes any person listed in Schedule 1 to the Global Compensation Deed who receives compensation for the expropriation of a specified asset — the carve-out for former farm owners compensated under that Deed.

Section 8(2)(d) — sale in execution

"Where a specified asset is sold in execution of the order of a court, the amount for which it was sold shall be deemed to have accrued to the person on whose behalf it was sold." When the Sheriff sells a debtor's specified asset to satisfy a judgment, the debtor (the person on whose behalf it is sold) is treated as having received the proceeds and is taxed accordingly — even though the debtor neither chose the sale nor pockets the money (it goes to creditors).

Section 8(2)(e) — maturity or redemption

"Where an amount accrues to a person by reason of the maturity or redemption of a specified asset, or in circumstances which in the opinion of the Commissioner are of a similar nature, such asset shall at the date of such accrual be deemed to have been sold by such person for such amount." A bond, debenture or other marketable security that matures or is redeemed does not change hands by sale, but the holder receives an amount; Section 8(2)(e) deems a sale at that amount. The Commissioner's "similar nature" power captures analogous redemption-type events. (Like 8(2)(b), the value here is a Commissioner determination for objection purposes under Section 25.)

Section 8(2)(f) — transfer of deed-of-sale rights (anti-flipping)

"Where a person transfers to another person his rights under a deed of sale in respect of the passing of ownership of the specified asset which is the subject of the deed of sale, he shall be deemed to have sold the specified asset to that other person for an amount equal to the whole amount received by or accruing to him as a result of the transfer." This defeats flipping: a buyer who has signed a deed of sale for, say, land, and then on-sells his contractual rights to a third party at a profit before transfer, is deemed to have sold the underlying asset for the whole amount he receives. It is mirrored by Section 11(6), which gives the transferee a cost base equal to the amount payable under the deed (see cgtdeductions).

Section 8(2)(g) — cession of stand rights

"Where a person transfers to another person his or her rights in a residential, commercial or industrial stand, whether or not the stand is serviced and whether or not his or her title ... is registered under the Deeds Registries Act [Chapter 20:05], he or she shall be deemed to have sold a specified asset ... for an amount equal to the whole amount received." (Inserted by Act 1/2014, w.e.f. 1 January 2014.) This catches the common practice of ceding rights in a stand (often unregistered) — a transaction that is not a transfer of registered title but is taxed as a deemed sale.

Section 8(2)(h) — relinquishment of a condominium interest

"Where a person relinquishes a membership interest in a condominium in favour of another person, he or she shall be deemed to have sold a specified asset ... for an amount equal to the whole amount received." (Inserted by Act 1/2014.) This brings sectional-title / condominium membership disposals within the deemed-sale net.

Section 13 — damage or destruction

Section 13 extends deeming to involuntary loss:

• 13(1): a damaged or destroyed specified asset is deemed sold for the amount of any receipt or accrual in respect of the damage/destruction (typically insurance proceeds).
• 13(2): if that receipt does not exceed the Section 11(2)(a)+(b) cost base, the asset is not deemed sold; instead the cost base is reduced (from the start of the year of receipt), and the inflation allowance (Section 11(2)(c)) is recalculated on the reduced base. (No gain crystallises where the payout merely recoups cost.)
• 13(3): where the Commissioner is satisfied that the receipt has been or will be spent within two years on (a) a replacement asset of a like nature or (b) repairing the asset, the deemed-sale rule does not apply to the amount so spent — only any unspent portion is taxed (from the year of damage/destruction or a later year the Commissioner sets). This is the replacement rollover.
• 13(4): the replacement/repair expenditure is then locked out of any future Section 11 deduction on a later sale (no double relief).

Section 20 — recovery of cost of an unsold asset

Section 20 mirrors Section 13 for recoveries/recoupments relating to the cost of an asset that has not been sold: (a) if the amount recovered exceeds the Section 11(2)(a)+(b) cost base, the asset is deemed sold for that amount; (b) if it does not exceed the cost base, the cost base is reduced (and the inflation allowance recalculated), the asset being deemed sold on the date of the final receipt. This dovetails with the recoupment add-back in the Section 8(1)(a) definition of gross capital amount (which includes recovered/recouped Section 11(2) deductions).

Section 14 — fair market price (the valuation backstop)

Section 14 lets the Commissioner substitute the fair market price where a person buys above or sells below market — "the Commissioner may, for the purpose of determining the capital gain or assessed capital loss ... determine the fair market price at which such purchase or sale shall be taken into ... returns for assessment." It is the general valuation backstop behind the deemed-sale figures, and (per Sommer Ranching 99-SC-065 and Sibanda G v Masanga L 24-SC-090) can produce friction where market values have shifted sharply over time.

Three families of deemed sale

The deemed-sale code groups naturally into three families, and it helps to teach them this way:

1. Voluntary non-sale transfers (Section 8(2)(b), (f), (g), (h)). The taxpayer chooses to move the asset, but not by an ordinary sale — a gift, an in-specie distribution, a flip of contractual rights, a cession of stand rights, a relinquishment of a condominium interest. The law deems a sale and (for (b)) values it at fair market price; for (f), (g), (h) the value is the whole amount received on the transfer of rights.
2. Involuntary transfers (Section 8(2)(c), (d); Section 13). The asset moves against, or without, the taxpayer's will — expropriation, sale in execution, damage or destruction. The law still deems a sale, valued at the compensation (c), the execution price (d), or the receipt (Section 13), but Section 13 provides relief valves (cost-base reduction and replacement rollover) because involuntary loss deserves softer treatment.
3. Maturity, redemption and recovery (Section 8(2)(e); Section 20). No "transfer" at all, but an amount accrues on the asset's own terms (a bond matures) or a cost is recovered on an unsold asset. The law deems a sale at the accrued/recovered amount, with Section 20 again offering cost-base reduction where the recovery is small.

Why fair market price, and who decides it

For a gift or undervalue there is no arm's-length price, so the Act must supply one. It chooses fair market price — the price a willing buyer and willing seller would agree — determined in the Commissioner's opinion (Section 8(2)(b)/(e)) and substitutable under Section 14. Because the Commissioner's valuation directly drives the tax, the Act makes those determinations objectionable under Section 25: a taxpayer who thinks the Commissioner's fair-market-price figure is too high can object and, failing agreement, appeal (see cgtobjectionsandappeals). This is a crucial protection, because an inflated fair-market-price on a no-cash gift could otherwise impose tax wildly out of line with reality.

The cash-flow trap

The defining hazard of deemed sales is that tax falls due on a transaction that may yield little or no cash:

• A gift (8(2)(b)) produces no money but a real CGT bill on the market value.
• An expropriation (8(2)(c)) may pay compensation late or in instalments, yet the deemed sale accrues at the compensation amount.
• A sale in execution (8(2)(d)) sends the proceeds to creditors, not the taxpayer, who is nonetheless taxed.
• Damage/destruction (Section 13) may pay insurance the taxpayer needs to rebuild, yet (absent the rollover) the payout is taxed.

The replacement rollover in Section 13(3) and the cost-base-reduction rules in Sections 13(2) and 20(b) exist to soften this for involuntary events; for voluntary gifts there is no such relief — the donor must simply fund the tax. Good planning therefore times and structures gifts and restructurings with the deemed-sale charge (and the rate/currency rules) firmly in mind.

The funnel and rate still apply

A deemed sale is not a separate tax — it merely supplies the proceeds figure. From there the ordinary machinery runs: the deemed proceeds are the gross capital amount (Section 8(1)(a)); exemptions (Section 10) may remove the amount (e.g. an executor's realisation of a deceased estate is exempt under Section 10(b)); deductions (Section 11) reduce it to the capital gain; and the rate (Finance Act Section 38) is 5% of gross (pre-22 Feb 2019 acquisition) or 20% of the gain (on/after), in the currency of the gain (Section 39A). A gift of a post-2019 USD asset is therefore taxed at 20% of (market value − allowable base), in USD.

All figures illustrative; deeming and valuation grounded in CGT Act Sections 8(2), 13, 14, 20, and rates in Finance Act Sections 38–39A.

Scenario 1 — Gift of a flat (Section 8(2)(b)): tax on no cash

In 2026, Mr Moyo gifts an investment flat to his daughter. He bought it in 2021 for USD 70,000; its fair market price now (Commissioner's opinion) is USD 150,000. No money changes hands. Post-2019 USD asset → Section 38(b), Section 39A(9a) base.

Mr Moyo owes USD 14,250 despite receiving nothing. This is the canonical deemed-sale trap (the R (Pvt) Ltd 19-HH-792 principle). He may object under Section 25 if he disputes the USD 150,000 fair market price.

Scenario 2 — Expropriation (Section 8(2)(c))

The State expropriates Ms Dube's commercial building (acquired 2013) for USD 200,000 compensation. Deemed sold for the compensation.

• If she is listed in Schedule 1 to the Global Compensation Deed, the proviso excludes the deemed sale — no CGT.
• If not, the building is deemed sold for USD 200,000. Acquired before 22 February 2019 → 5% of gross = USD 10,000 (Section 38(a)). (Check the Section 39A(10) dead-zone if acquisition is within 1 Feb 2009 – 22 Feb 2019 — see ratesofcapitalgains.)

Scenario 3 — Maturity of a debenture (Section 8(2)(e))

Tarisai holds a corporate debenture (a marketable security, hence a specified asset) acquired in 2020 for USD 50,000; it matures in 2026 and she receives USD 65,000. Section 8(2)(e) deems a sale at USD 65,000.

Scenario 4 — Flipping a deed of sale (Section 8(2)(f))

Kuda signs a deed of sale to buy a stand for USD 40,000, then on-sells his rights under that deed to Rumbi for USD 55,000 before transfer. Section 8(2)(f) deems Kuda to have sold the stand for the whole USD 55,000 he received. His cost base (Section 11(6)) is the USD 40,000 payable under the deed. Post-2019 USD:

The anti-flipping rule ensures the USD 15,000 mark-up is taxed, not allowed to escape because no title was transferred.

Scenario 5 — Fire and a replacement rollover (Section 13)

Chenai's commercial building (cost base USD 90,000) is destroyed by fire in 2026; insurance pays USD 140,000. Section 13(1) deems a sale for USD 140,000. She rebuilds within two years, spending the full USD 140,000 on a replacement of a like nature.

• Under Section 13(3), the deemed-sale rule does not apply to the USD 140,000 spent — the charge is wholly deferred; no CGT now.
• Under Section 13(4), the USD 140,000 replacement cost is locked out of future Section 11 deductions when she eventually sells the new building.
• Had she spent only USD 100,000, the unspent USD 40,000 would be the taxable portion (Section 13(3)(ii)).

Scenario 6 — Recovery of cost on an unsold asset (Section 20)

Farai receives USD 30,000 as a recoupment relating to the cost of an asset he still owns (cost base USD 100,000). Since USD 30,000 does not exceed the cost base, Section 20(b) applies: no deemed sale, but his cost base is reduced to USD 70,000 (and the inflation allowance recalculated). Had the recovery been USD 120,000 (exceeding the USD 100,000 base), Section 20(a) would deem a sale for USD 120,000.

SMEs and large corporates

For SMEs and partnerships, the most common deemed-sale events are gifts within the family business (8(2)(b)) and in-specie distributions on winding up — both taxed at market value with a real cash bill, which must be budgeted. For large corporates and multinationals, deemed sales arise in group reorganisations (an in-specie transfer of a specified asset is prima facie an 8(2)(b) deemed sale at fair market price) — which is precisely why the rollover reliefs in Sections 15–17 exist to defer the charge on qualifying intra-group transfers (see cgtcorporaterestructuring). A corporate that overlooks 8(2)(b) on a non-cash asset move can face an unexpected 20% charge on the asset's full market value.

• R (Pvt) Ltd v ZIMRA 19-HH-792. The leading authority on Section 8(2)(b): a disposal otherwise than by sale is a deemed sale at fair market price, so a transfer for no (or inadequate) cash is taxable on market value. This case is the doctrinal anchor of the whole deemed-sale code and of the cash-flow trap.
• Old Mutual Zimbabwe Ltd v Commissioner-General, ZIMRA 16-HH-143. "Capital ≠ tax-free," and the purpose or involuntariness of a disposal does not remove it from charge — relevant to expropriation and execution sales, which are taxed despite being involuntary.
• Sommer Ranching (Pvt) Ltd v COT 99-SC-065. Confirms the mutatis mutandis application of Income Tax Act machinery and underpins the fair-market-price/valuation process; the case illustrates the friction when values shift over long holding periods.
• Sibanda G v Masanga L 24-SC-090. Illustrates fair-market-price disputes (Section 14) frustrating transfer/clearance — directly relevant to valuing deemed sales.
• Sabeta M v Commissioner-General, ZIMRA 12-HH-079. Once the CGT on a (deemed) sale is paid, ZIMRA must issue the clearance certificate — the procedural endpoint of a deemed-sale assessment.
• Commissioner of Taxes v C W (Pvt) Ltd 89-ZLR-361 and Ellis N.O. v COT 92-SC-001. The Section 10(c) exemption can still remove an amount even where a disposal (or deemed disposal) occurs — a reminder that exemptions are checked before the deemed-sale charge bites.

Where the source provides no on-point case for a particular deemed-sale category (e.g. condominium relinquishment under 8(2)(h), a recent insertion), the matter is governed by the statutory text read strictly, not by analogy or invention.

1. Assuming "no sale, no CGT." A gift, donation or in-specie distribution is a deemed sale at fair market price (Section 8(2)(b)). The absence of a buyer or a price does not exempt it.
2. Forgetting the cash-flow trap. Deemed sales (gifts, expropriation, execution) can impose tax where little or no cash is received. The donor/owner must fund the tax separately.
3. Overlooking the Global Compensation Deed carve-out. Persons listed in Schedule 1 are excluded from the expropriation deemed sale (Section 8(2)(c) proviso) — applying CGT to them is wrong.
4. Missing the replacement rollover on damage/destruction. Section 13(3) defers the charge to the extent the receipt is reinvested within two years; failing to claim it taxes money the owner needs to rebuild.
5. Double-deducting replacement cost. Section 13(4) locks out rollover-relieved expenditure from future Section 11 deductions; claiming it again is disallowed.
6. Confusing Section 13/20's two outcomes. If the receipt/recovery exceeds the cost base → deemed sale; if not → cost-base reduction. Mixing these mis-computes the gain.
7. Accepting the Commissioner's fair market price uncritically. The fair-market-price determinations (Sections 8(2)(b)/(e), 14) are objectionable under Section 25 — an inflated valuation should be challenged.
8. Ignoring the flip rule. On-selling deed-of-sale rights (8(2)(f)) or stand rights (8(2)(g)) is a deemed sale of the underlying asset for the whole amount received — not a tax-free assignment.
9. Applying the wrong rate to deemed proceeds. The deemed proceeds are still subject to the acquisition-date rate split (5%-of-gross vs 20%-of-gain) and the currency rules — a deemed sale does not change the rate logic.

Work through the questions one at a time. Choose an answer and it is graded immediately, with an explanation and the provision it comes from. Your progress is saved, so you can stop and resume.

• A deemed sale treats a non-sale event as a sale so the accrued gain is taxed; the code is principally CGT Act Section 8(2)(b)–(h), plus Section 13 (damage/destruction) and Section 20 (recovery of cost).
• Section 8(2)(b) is the keystone: a disposal otherwise than by sale (gift, donation, in-specie distribution, undervalue) is deemed a sale at fair market price (Commissioner's opinion) — taxable even where no cash is received (R (Pvt) Ltd 19-HH-792). Exception: company donation of immovable property to an approved employee housing trust.
• Specific deemed sales: (c) expropriation (taxed on compensation; Global Compensation Deed carve-out), (d) sale in execution, (e) maturity/redemption, (f) deed-of-sale-rights flip, (g) cession of stand rights, (h) condominium relinquishment.
• Involuntary loss is softened: Section 13 offers a cost-base reduction (13(2)) and a two-year replacement rollover (13(3)–(4)); Section 20 reduces the cost base where a recovery is small, deems a sale where it is large.
• Valuation of deemed sales rests on fair market price (Sections 8(2)(b)/(e), 14), which is a Commissioner determination objectionable under Section 25.
• The deemed proceeds feed the ordinary funnel and rate: gross capital amount → exemptions → deductions → capital gain, taxed at 5% of gross (pre-22 Feb 2019) or 20% of the gain (on/after), in the currency of the gain (Section 39A).
• Policy insight: deemed sales are the anti-avoidance backbone of CGT — they stop the tax being defeated by re-labelling a disposal — but they create a cash-flow trap that makes timing and funding central to any gift, restructuring, or response to expropriation or disaster.

Table 1 — The deemed-sale catalogue

Table 2 — Voluntary vs involuntary deemed sales

Diagram 1 — Is there a deemed sale, and how is it valued?

flowchart TD
 A[Specified asset leaves the owner or pays out] --> B{Ordinary sale for a price?}
 B -->|Yes| C[Actual price = gross capital amount]
 B -->|No| D{Which event?}
 D -->|Gift / in-specie / undervalue| E[Section 8 2 b deemed sale at FAIR MARKET PRICE]
 D -->|Expropriation| F[Section 8 2 c compensation; Global Compensation Deed persons excluded]
 D -->|Sale in execution| G[Section 8 2 d execution price to debtor]
 D -->|Maturity or redemption| H[Section 8 2 e amount accruing]
 D -->|Flip of deed or stand or condo rights| I[Section 8 2 f g h whole amount received]
 D -->|Damage or destruction| J{Receipt reinvested within 2 yrs?}
 J -->|Yes| K[Section 13 3 rollover; charge deferred on reinvested part]
 J -->|No| L[Section 13 1 deemed sale on unspent receipt]
 E --> M[Gross capital amount then Section 10 exemptions then Section 11 deductions then rate Section 38]
 F --> M
 G --> M
 H --> M
 I --> M
 L --> M

Statutes & sections

• Capital Gains Tax Act [Chapter 23:01] — Section 8(1)(a) (deemed proceeds become the gross capital amount; includes recouped Section 11(2) deductions); Section 8(2)(a) (FX timing of the gross capital amount); Section 8(2)(b) (disposal otherwise than by sale = deemed sale at fair market price; proviso for company donation to approved employee housing trust, FA(No.6) 2006); Section 8(2)(c) (expropriation = compensation; Global Compensation Deed Schedule 1 carve-out, FA 13/2023); Section 8(2)(d) (sale in execution); Section 8(2)(e) (maturity/redemption); Section 8(2)(f) (transfer of deed-of-sale rights); Section 8(2)(g) (cession of stand rights, Act 1/2014); Section 8(2)(h) (relinquishment of condominium interest, Act 1/2014); Section 9 (deemed accrual, ITA Section 10 mutatis mutandis); Section 10 (exemptions — e.g. Section 10(b) executor's realisation; checked before the charge); Section 11 (deductions; Section 11(6) transferee's deed-of-sale cost base); Section 13 (damage/destruction: 13(1) deemed sale, 13(2) cost-base reduction, 13(3) two-year replacement rollover, 13(4) lock-out); Section 14 (fair market price backstop); Section 20 (recovery of cost of an unsold asset: deemed sale or cost-base reduction); Section 25 (objection to fair-market-price and related Commissioner determinations).
• Finance Act [Chapter 23:04] — Section 38 (rate applied to deemed proceeds: 5% of gross for pre-22 Feb 2019 acquisitions / 20% of the gain for on-or-after); Section 39A(9)/(9a)/(10) (currency of the gain; USD base = limited Section 11 deductions + 2½%/yr in lieu of CPI; no deductions for 1 Feb 2009 – 22 Feb 2019 acquisitions).

Case law

• R (Pvt) Ltd v ZIMRA 19-HH-792 — Section 8(2)(b) deemed sale at fair market price (gift/no-cash disposal taxable).
• Old Mutual Zimbabwe Ltd v Commissioner-General, ZIMRA 16-HH-143 — purpose/involuntariness irrelevant; "capital ≠ tax-free."
• Sommer Ranching (Pvt) Ltd v COT 99-SC-065 — ITA machinery mutatis mutandis; valuation friction.
• Sibanda G v Masanga L 24-SC-090 — fair-market-price (Section 14) disputes and transfer/clearance.
• Sabeta M v Commissioner-General, ZIMRA 12-HH-079 — clearance certificate must issue once the (deemed-sale) tax is paid.
• Commissioner of Taxes v C W (Pvt) Ltd 89-ZLR-361; Ellis N.O. v COT 92-SC-001 — exemptions can remove an amount even on a deemed disposal.

ZIMRA guidance

• Comprehensive Guide to Form CGT 1 — ZIMRA External Guide — the per-disposal return on which deemed sales are declared and valued.