Property Rates

Service documentation · Republic of Zambia · GSB e-Services

Owner	Department of Local Government
Service key	LGD/property-rates
Version	service v1, platform 7eecca5c
Date	2026-10-21

Generated automatically by the service's end-to-end test run. Every screenshot shows synthetic test data on a local test installation, never real personal data.

This document describes the Property Rates service of Department of Local Government as the platform runs it today. It is generated by the service's end-to-end test: every step below was performed by the test, and every screenshot was taken during that run with synthetic data. Regenerate it with npm run docs:services in the e2e suite; do not edit it by hand.

1. Service summary

Item	Detail
Service	Property Rates
Owner (MDA)	Department of Local Government (LGD)
Purpose	Property rates are annual levies imposed by the local council on all rateable properties within its jurisdiction in accordance with the Rating Act No. 21 of 2018. The Council bills property once a year and each bill must be paid within that year. If a property has arrears, those must be settled first, or the full outstanding balance may be paid in a single payment.
Who can apply	Organization; Individual
How to apply	Online on the national e-Services portal, signed in with ZamPass; pay with ZamPay.
Fees	Fee set by the office: (variable)
Turnaround	Automated
Validity of the output	31 December of the current year
Required documents	None
Output documents	GS-1 Application for a Government Service GS-2 Notice of Government Action

2. Application process, step by step

The process as configured in the back office:

Step	Role	Task	Type
1	Applicant	Apply	form
2	Case Officer	Generate Payment	generate-payment
3	Applicant	Payment	payment
4	System	Generate Document	generate-document
5	System	Notify Client	notify

Who takes part in this journey: Finance officer, Citizen, Anyone (public), Case Officer.

Step 1. Preview the billing run

Finance officer · Back office

In Finance -> Billing a finance officer (the Accountant role) chooses the scheme ("Property rates - Lusaka City Council") and the period (2026) and previews the run: every account, what it would be billed (worked out on the server from the council's approved tariffs and records) and why any is skipped. Nothing is billed yet.

Step 2. Approve the billing run

Finance officer · Back office

A second finance officer opens the proposed run and approves it ("Approve and bill"); the officer who proposed it cannot. The approval posts one bill per account for the period - posting again never bills twice - and the bills appear on the holders' accounts.

Step 3. Find the service at the council

Citizen · National e-Services portal

The service is delivered by the local authorities: on the national e-Services portal the citizen opens Councils, chooses their council (Lusaka City Council in this run) and searches its services ("Property Rates"). The application is then registered with that council and priced with its own fees.

Step 4. Read the service page

Citizen · National e-Services portal

The service page sets out what the service is for, the fee, how long it takes and the documents to have ready, and names the council the application goes to. "Start application" begins an application at Lusaka City Council (the citizen is signed in with ZamPass).

Step 5. See the account and what is owed

Citizen · National e-Services portal

"Start application" opens the service's account page instead of a form: the citizen's Property rates (E2E/R/1, 7 Synthetic Road, Rhodes Park, reference RATI-GDXRHQNV) with what is owed now and the recent bills (K3,000.00 for 2026). The account is the citizen's because the office linked them to it; nothing is typed.

Step 6. Pay with ZamPay

Citizen · National e-Services portal

Pay raises a ZamPay invoice for the amount the server works out from the account (K3,000.00; a total the page shows that differs is refused and the server's is shown). The citizen pays at ZamPay by mobile money or bank card.

Step 7. Payment received

Citizen · National e-Services portal

ZamPay reports the payment; it is allocated to the account on the server (penalties first, then the oldest bill), and the bill shows as paid.

Step 8. Verify the receipt

Anyone (public) · Public verification page

The receipt's QR code opens the public receipt page: genuine, its number and the payment it records. No sign-in is needed.

Step 9. The account and its statement

Case Officer · Back office

The office sees the account in Finance -> Billing: its bills, the payment allocated to them and the balance (nil). "Statement (PDF)" issues the statement of account: a numbered document, sealed by the platform, with a QR code to the public verification page.

Step 10. Verify the statement

Anyone (public) · Public verification page

The QR code on the statement opens the public verification page: the statement's number, the account and the balance it shows at its date, and that it is genuine. No name is shown.

3. Payment

Item	In the test run
Fee (as published)	Depends on the rateable value of the property.
Bill	BL-FYKAXTZKGB (2026)
Invoice	0314673645922951
Amount	ZMW 3000.00
Receipt	0314673645922951

On screen: step 1 (Preview the billing run), step 2 (Approve the billing run), step 5 (See the account and what is owed), step 6 (Pay with ZamPay), step 7 (Payment received) in section 2.

4. Output documents

Statement of account (sealed PDF)

Issued on demand from the account's ledger: every bill and payment with the running balance. Numbered, sealed with the platform's electronic seal and verifiable by its QR code.

The issued PDF has 1 page; the image shows the first.

Fields

Field	Value in the test run
Statement number	ST-5HR3BN6S4V
Account	RATI-GDXRHQNV
Account	E2E/R/1, 7 Synthetic Road, Rhodes Park
Bill	BL-FYKAXTZKGB: K3,000.00 for 2026
Balance	nil after the payment

Seal

Item	Detail
Seal	the platform's electronic seal

Verification

Item	Detail
Where	The public verification page (/verify/<code>), the address under the QR code
What it shows	The statement number, the account and the balance at the statement date; never a name.

On screen: step 8 (Verify the receipt), step 9 (The account and its statement), step 10 (Verify the statement) in section 2.

5. Notifications

When	Channel	To	Message	Delivery
Payment received	in-app (portal bell)	the applicant	Payment received for LGD-PR/00001/10-21-26 - Your payment of ZMW 3000.00 for LGD-PR/00001/10-21-26 (Property Rates) has been received. Receipt: <ZamPay>/pdf?documentType=receipt&invoiceNumber=0314673645922951	shown
Payment due (invoice raised)	email	+260 97* *** 567	Payment due for application LGD-PR/00001/10-21-26	skipped
Payment due (invoice raised)	sms	+260 97* *** 567		delivered
Payment received	sms	+260 97* *** 567		delivered

Delivery: shown = in the portal's notification bell; delivered = the SMS gateway (a test double in this run) reported the text delivered; skipped = not sent on that channel (e-mail is not configured on the test installation, and some notices go out on one channel only); sent by the national portal = a ministry node handed the notice to the national portal, which texts and e-mails the citizen under its own name and the citizen's preferences. Addresses written <portal>, <ZamPay> stand for the national portal and ZamPay.

6. Legacy mapping

Item	Detail
Replaces	Property Rates in the legacy ZIGS e-Services directory (ZIGS_Services)
Legacy service id	601
Legacy provider	Department of Local Government (LGD) under Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development
Legacy process	not recorded
Fee in the legacy system	none
Fee taken before submission	yes (as in ZIGS)
Time to issue (legacy)	not recorded
Legacy output templates	GS-1 Application for a Government Service: ZIGS_Forms_ZDA / GS1 GS-2 Notice of Government Action: ZIGS_Forms_Notices / GS-2.NoticeOfAction
Legacy address	https://ecouncils.gsb.gov.zm
How it was brought over	Imported by the platform's legacy catalogue importer (zcm-backend scripts/zigs/importLegacy.js) from the ZIGS snapshot: form, case types, fees, documents, process and output templates, then served by the new platform.

7. Version and date

Item	Detail
Document version	service v1, platform 7eecca5c
Generated	2026-10-21T11:19:03Z (by the end-to-end run, not edited by hand)
Service version	not versioned (configured directly)
Platform snapshot	backend 7eecca5c portal 72805f0 back office 58e5946
Test suite	e2e 2f82c10; one installation (combined); seed profile mihud
Journeys	30-catalogue-service.spec.js: the office keeps the account and bills the period: finance previews and proposes, another finance officer approves - passed 30-catalogue-service.spec.js: the citizen finds the service at the council and pays the bill from the service's page - passed 30-catalogue-service.spec.js: the receipt verifies; the statement of account is sealed and its QR code verifies - passed
Result	3 of 3 journey tests passed
Data	Synthetic test data on a local test installation; provider test doubles for ZamPass, ZamPay, SMS and signing.