The Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA) is calling for the suspension of border costs fees collected from international cargo carriers.
“The private sector advocates the immediate suspension of the implementation of this measure and proposes that a dialogue be promoted on this measure, essentially aiming at aligning the discernment regarding its practical applicability, as well as about its reasonableness,” a communique released by the CTA.
In question is the government’s decision to start charging international cargo carriers border costs fees, a measure based on a 2007 decree which was only implemented in August 2019.
The decree establishes that the inspection of cargo on ships, aircraft, vehicles, railway trains and other means will be charged per-hour values, depending on the vehicle, of between 49 meticais (€0.56) and 247 meticais (almost €3.00).
For the CTA, the decision to implement the collection of these fees when companies are already facing a crisis caused by coronavirus restrictions is unfair.
“The suspension of the implementation of this diploma will also help to mitigate operational problems related to its own implementation, thus minimizing the costs associated with it, removing barriers that the fee may represent for the circulation of people and goods at the national level,” the CTA argues.
Figures released by the CTA in March indicated that a total of 1,075 companies had suspended activity in late 2020 as a result of the impact of Covid-19 in the country.
