Tiffin was born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe).
His family were farmers in the Tengwe area in the north of the country.
After three years of military service, he played for Mashonaland in the days before Zimbabwean provincial cricket had first-class status, while working as a manager for Castrol Zimbabwe.
In February 2004, he was among three umpires, along with Asoka de Silva and Dave Orchard, whose contracts were not renewed.
In November 2016 he stood in his 150th One Day International (ODI) game, in the match between Zimbabwe and the West Indies at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.