Ethiopia makes indicative customs prices mandatory for letters of credit
Since 27 January 2026, Ethiopian banks must use the Customs Commission's indicative prices to open a letter of credit or issue an import permit. The measure is part of the exchange-rate reform begun in July 2024 and of Ethiopia's WTO accession negotiations, which entered a phase seen as decisive in late April 2026.
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The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) announced on 25 January 2026, in an official statement, that the country's banks must henceforth rely on the indicative prices published by the Ethiopian Customs Commission to assess the value of imported goods, both when opening a letter of credit and for any other approved form of import permit. The measure took effect on 27 January 2026.
According to the NBE, this decision follows discrepancies observed between the values declared by importers to banks and those used by customs, in a context where the exchange rate has floated freely since directive FXD/01/2024 of July 2024. In practical terms, a company importing from China can no longer have a letter of credit opened at a value below the indicative price set by customs for the relevant product category, or risk having its bank file blocked.
This banking measure adds to a broader trend: at the working party meeting of 22 and 23 April 2026, the World Trade Organization noted that Ethiopia had made progress on customs valuation reform, removing ancillary duties and taxes, and eliminating quantitative import restrictions deemed incompatible with WTO rules, with a view to finalising market access negotiations. No final accession date has, however, been confirmed to date.
All Ethiopian importers financing their purchases in China through a letter of credit or a bank import permit are affected, including traders buying through a sourcing agent. The precise list of product categories subject to an indicative price was not published in the NBE statement consulted and should be checked with one's bank before opening a file.
What it changes for an importer
In practice, an Ethiopian Sorva client must now anticipate that their bank will use whichever is higher, the price invoiced by the Chinese factory or the Customs Commission's indicative price, as the customs value, which can raise the amount of the letter of credit to be opened and therefore the cash tied up upfront. Sorva can draw up a commercial invoice and value documents consistent with the factory, and direct the client to their bank to check whether the targeted product appears on the indicative price list before committing to the order, without standing in for the bank or Ethiopian customs.
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