The private sector is going to support the government in modernising the customs system to streamline trade, reduce bureaucratic barriers and bring Mozambique into line with international best practices, in order to promote a more competitive and attractive business environment for domestic and foreign investors.
The initiative will be implemented by DAI, an organisation that works in global development and is involved in the Promote Trade programme in Mozambique, in partnership with the Directorate General of Customs (DGA), through the Promote Trade project, said Ascensão Machel, the Project’s Operations Manager, this Thursday (06) in Maputo during the Consultation Workshop on Early and Binding Decisions to Boost International Trade.
‘To this end, technical and strategic efforts are underway to strengthen the country’s institutional capacity to implement advance and binding rulings, an essential mechanism for guaranteeing the predictability and transparency of commercial operations,’ he said.
With a view to ensuring that Mozambique is prepared to apply this instrument, which is fundamental to the implementation of the Economic Partnership Agreement between SADC and the European Union (SADC-EU EPA), the source said that ‘activities are underway that include reviewing and updating the legal framework, creating a robust institutional mechanism and building the capacity of key players, from the private and public sectors to academia and civil society’.
Representative of the Directorate-General for Customs, Ângelo Timana
Machel explained that the first component consists of technical support for officials from Customs, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, now the Ministry of Economy, by the DAI on issues related to the implementation of Advance Decisions, rules of origin, tariff classification, among other aspects linked to this process.
‘We thought it was very important to hold this exclusive training for Customs, which took place on the 4th and 5th of this month, where we were successful because we already have a Ministerial Diploma that will regulate the entire technical process of requesting Advance and Binding Decisions. However, the training doesn’t end here, we’re planning another one on the 7th of this month,’ he explained.
The second component, implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) together with the National Institute for Standardisation and Quality (INNOQ), focuses on quality issues. The third, organised by DAI, aims to publicise the opportunities of the SADC-EU EPA Partnership Agreement.
He considers this to be an opportune moment to boost the national economy and take advantage of the EPA, given the legal conditions already created since the ratification of the Ministerial Diploma in 2018, as well as the new government, ‘to which we want to guarantee greater transparency and internationalisation, not only at SADC level, but also at the level of other multilateral agreements ratified by Mozambique’.
Machel reiterated the government’s commitment to supporting Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), through a guide, which clarifies various aspects of the conditions for exporting, for example almonds, to the European market, from the steps to the licences and certifications to be had.
‘As a project we are trying to support the government so that when the conditions are created, the country is already prepared to move forward,’ he said.
Machel added that training in trade in services was also necessary, and a manual on negotiating services was produced. ‘In addition, we created a negotiating team for trade in services, due to the lack of nationals with co-operative capacities at the time,’ culminating in the creation of the sub-committee on trade in services and the production of a manual together with the Directorate General for Customs, on how to apply the rules of origin and cumulation.
For his part, the representative of the Directorate General of Customs, Ângelo Timana, argues that, ‘the current phase of analysing and reforming legislation will allow our legislation to be compliant and, in turn, the country to be in a competitive position to access the international market. This will facilitate the expectations of exporters and the business of importers, guaranteeing greater transparency and integrity.’
Richard Chopra, a consultant and senior specialist in Customs Modernisation and Facilitation, argues that Advance Binding Decisions are a new world of predictability for conflicts between the customs system and the private sector. ‘This way we’ll have more transparency and a friendly environment between the two, because it allows us to know the rules of origin and classification in advance, avoiding negotiations with customs.’
AIM
