The Mozambique Chamber of Commerce (CCM) in partnership with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC) and the Tax Authority (AT) held a consultation session with businesspeople this Wednesday, March 6th, in preparation for the Seminar on the Tariff Offer Proposal of Mozambique within the scope of the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA). In the session, CCM, MIC and AT reflected on the tariff regime that Mozambique proposes to offer to the AFCFTA.
As part of the public consultation process, the Tax Authority (AT), through the Reforms Unit, was responsible for presenting to businesspeople the proposal that Mozambique intends to submit, highlighting the customs disarmament schedule, the categorization of products and the rules of origin to be applied. The Coordinator of the Tax Authority team, Eurico Mueio, reiterated that, as businesspeople, it is necessary to pay more attention to the categorization of approximately 5811 products to assess their correct inclusion, based on each of the categories on the disarmament agenda, and thus avoid some previously recorded errors.
For the General Secretary of the CCM, Teresa Muenda, the consultation ensured the inclusion of businesspeople in the decision-making processes that will influence the rules of this market and the preparation of economic agents for the opportunities and challenges that emerge with the AFCFTA. It also allowed us to gather contributions on how to make the African market more dynamic and the customs process accessible to businesspeople.
For the MIC’s Deputy National Director of Foreign Trade, Ali Mussa, it is important to gather contributions from the private sector on the proposed tariffs already stipulated, before submission and approval by national higher authorities and their deposit at the AFCFTA Secretariat, since, this is one of the conditions for Mozambique to trade with other member countries.
The proposed tariff offer should be submitted to the Council of Ministers in the coming days, after the validation seminar, to take place on March 13th.