Mozambique is intensifying the dynamisation of its international trade. In order to achieve these objectives effectively, last year the Executive enacted Law 17/2022 of 29 December, which approves the text of the customs tariff and the respective preliminary instructions and repeals Law 11/2016 of 30 December.
With a view to providing businesspeople with knowledge about the changes introduced by the new law governing customs clearance, the Mozambique Chamber of Commerce (CCM), in partnership with MDR Advogados and the Chamber of Customs Brokers, organised a conference on Customs Duties on Thursday 19 October in Maputo.
On the occasion, the Managing Partner of MDR Advogados, Tiago Arouca Mendes, said that it is important for the national business community to know all the customs procedures so that, during their imports and exports, they can work in compliance and apply the necessary laws for each situation.
“As lawyers, we are available to support and help understand the new legislation, so that the country can be a benchmark in good practices and, at the same time, become increasingly established within the International Trade Organisation,” he said.
According to the official, the new document brings some important changes that must be understood by the business community, since it is directly linked to customs activity.
“Among the new changes, we have the exemption from licensing for a specific type of non-commercial import, and we are counting on the flexibilisation of some measures aimed at effectively speeding up the process,” he revealed.
In his speech, the lawyer considered that “our legislature has been quick to update the rules for the various sectors of activity, which means that Mozambique is committed to keeping up with international standards”.
However, he warned that there are still many challenges, proposing that each entity create concrete mechanisms to make the understanding of the laws more flexible and avoid corruption scenarios.
“Every time a revision is made, new challenges arise and there needs to be constant dissemination of standards and laws. We need a scenario in which each organisation is able to create good practice guides so that its employees can understand the procedures and enforce the measures,” he clarified.
In March, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIC), together with the Mozambican Tax Authority (AT) and the Confederation of Mozambican Economic Associations (CTA), announced their intention to eliminate, by the end of this year, the obligation for customs agents to intervene in the clearance of goods, so that a direct relationship between the state and the importer or economic agent is possible.
At the time, the director of Foreign Trade at the MIC, Claire Zimba, argued that the elimination of the broker will not remove their role, but will allow traders to register as users of the Single Window, an electronic system through which they can enter their transactions.
It is estimated that economies in which the presence of customs agents is dispensable will have 40 per cent lower costs for importing and exporting goods.
