Zambia is an attractive investment destination offering various lucrative investment opportunities in agriculture, manufacturing, energy, tourism and mining, among others. There are tremendous opportunities in these sectors, and government has committed itself to creating a business environment that benchmarks Zambia as the best investment destination among developing economies. The Zambia Development Agency’s growth facilitation mandate integrates initiatives and policies that set-up priority investment sectors to enhance the attainment of national development targets and goals.

These priority sectors are designed to reflect important economic development opportunities for investment, while setting targets toward which limited resources for evenly investment in all sectors could be applied. These focus areas are utilised in many settings to guide the planning and development of the country in line with the diversification policy to reduce dependency on the mining sector as the only economic mainstay.

Therefore, anyone investing not less than $500,000 in any of the priority sectors listed below is entitled to fiscal incentives:
a) Floriculture
Fresh flowers and dried flowers
b) Horticulture
Fresh and dried vegetables
c) Processed foods
Wheat flour
Other processed foods
d) Beverages and Stimulants
Tea and tea products
Coffee and coffee products
e) Production and the processing of the following products in the textiles sector:
- Cotton
- Cotton yarn
- Fabric
- Garments
f) Manufacturing of the following engineering products:
- Copper products
- Iron ore and steel
- Cobalt
- Other engineered products
g) Beneficiation of phosphates and any other related material into fertilizer
h) Beneficiation of rock materials into cement
i) Production and processing of raw timber into wood products
j) Production and processing of the following products in the leather sector:
- cattle hides
- crust leather
- leather products
k) Building of mini-hydro power stations
l) Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

(i) Development of computer software
(ii) Assembly/manufacture of ICT equipment

m) Health

(i) Manufacture of pharmaceutical products;
(ii) Repair and maintenance of medical equipment;
(iii) Provision of laundry services to medical institutions;
(iv) Ambulance services;
(v) Medical laboratory services;
(vi) Diagnostic services; and
(vii) Other medical services.

n) Education and skills training
o) Manufacture of:

(i) Machinery & machinery components
(ii) Iron & steel products
(iii) Electrical and electronic products & components & parts thereof;
(iv) Chemicals & petrochemicals
(v) Pharmaceutical & related products
(vi) Wood & wood products
(vii) Palm oil & their derivatives
(viii) Pulp, paper & paper board
(ix) Textile & textile products
(x) Transport equipment, component & accessories
(xi) Clay-based, sand-based & other non-metallic mineral products;
(xii) Plastic products
(xiii) Professional medical, scientific, & measuring devices/parts
(xiv) Rubber products
(xv) Leather & leather products
(xvi) Packaging & printing materials
(xvii) Fertilizer
(xviii) Cement

(a) Tourism

(b) Processing of:

(i) agricultural products
(ii) forest products
(iii) non-ferrous metals & their products
(iv) gemstones

The following is the general incentive structure currently in place:
Agriculture
Income Tax
 15 percent tax on income from farming
 50 percent depreciation allowance per year for the first two years on machinery used for farming
 20 percent capital expenditure allowance per year for the first five years on farm improvements
 10 percent development allowance per year, up to the first year of production, on capital expenditure incurred for the purpose of growing coffee, tea, bananas, citrus fruits or similar plants
 100 percent farm work allowance for expenditure on farm land, such as for stumping, land clearing, water conservation and the like.
Mining (Base Metals)
Income Tax
 30 percent tax income from mining
 Pre-production expenses deducted in the first year of production and other capital expenditures deducted in the year incurred
 10 years carry forward losses

Indirect Taxes
 Exemptions from customs duty in respect of all machinery and equipment (including specialised motor vehicles) used for exploration and mining activities
Tourism
Income Tax
 10 percent initial allowance and annual 5 percent wear and tear on buildings
 50 percent depreciation allowance for machinery
Indirect Taxes
 Zero rated hotel accommodation in the Livingstone district
 Zero-rating of exploration of goods by a tourist
 Zero-rating of the supply of an inclusive tour package by a tour operator or travel agent licenced as such by the Zambia National Tourist Board
Manufacturing
Income Tax
 10 percent initial allowance and annual 5 percent wear and tear ob buildings and structures
 50 percent depreciation allowance for machinery
Indirect Taxes
 Customs duty exemptions on most machinery and equipment used in manufacturing
 Zero rate/reduced duty of certain raw materials
 Import value added tax deferment on eligible plant/machinery of a capital nature