Importing from China to Mozambique: Customs, INNOQ and VAT in 2026

Trade between the two countries reached 5.4 billion dollars in 2025. Since 1 December 2024, China has granted duty-free treatment on 100% of its tariff lines to least-developed countries with diplomatic relations with China, including Mozambique: a measure that makes it easier for Mozambican goods to enter China, without changing the duties Mozambique charges on the way in.

In 2024, bilateral trade stood at 5.19 billion dollars, of which about 3.38 billion was Mozambican imports from China, nearly a third of the country's total imports. Machinery and electronics led the list, followed by textiles, vehicles, then construction materials, driven by infrastructure and natural gas projects.

Mozambique has no bilateral free trade agreement with China that would lower duties on imports: China's duty-free treatment from 1 December 2024 runs one way, benefiting Mozambican exporters, not importers of Chinese goods.

Mozambique takes part in the Southern African Development Community trade protocol and ratified the African Continental Free Trade Area on 9 January 2023. Neither framework involves China or opens any preferential regime for Chinese goods cleared through customs in Mozambique.

Mozambican customs duties range from 0 to 25% depending on the tariff line, with a 20% rate applying most often to consumer goods; the trade-weighted average tariff sits around 7.1%. On top of that comes a 16% VAT, calculated on the customs value plus the duty charged. The exact rate for a given tariff line should be checked line by line with the Mozambique Tax Authority or a customs broker before placing a production order.

Example for a consumer item with a customs value of 10,000 dollars: duty at 20%, i.e. 2,000 dollars, then VAT at 16% on 12,000 dollars, i.e. 1,920 dollars. The total reaches 3,920 dollars, about 39% of the customs value, before clearance and handling fees.

Every importer must hold a licence issued by the National Directorate of Commerce, under the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The standard file includes the commercial invoice, the packing list, the bill of lading or air waybill, and the pre-shipment inspection certificate described below.

Customs clearance runs through the Janela Única Eletrónica, a digital platform operated by MCNET together with the Directorate-General of Customs, which centralises arrival manifests, tariff-code lookup, duty simulation and the SIGA module. The Mozambique Tax Authority remains the point of contact for any dispute over a declaration.

The Instituto Nacional de Normalização e Qualidade, or INNOQ, is the national standards body, created in 1983 and placed under the Ministry of Economy since 2000. An ISO member, it issues ISO 9001 certificates and accepts test reports from foreign laboratories that meet Mozambican standards.

Pre-shipment inspection is mandatory for all Mozambican imports. For used vehicles, the programme entrusted to Intertek, under ministerial decree 244/2011, charges 265 dollars plus tax per vehicle. For other goods, the body in charge and the inspection cost should be confirmed with your freight forwarder before placing a production order.

On labelling, food, pharmaceutical products and certain consumer goods must carry wording in Portuguese: INNOQ sets the standards by category, and the Ministry of Health enforces them.

Mozambique bans the import of pornographic material, certain controlled substances, and left-hand-drive vehicles intended for commercial use, since the country drives on the left like its Southern African neighbours.

A licence or certificate is required for pharmaceutical products, firearms and explosives. Live animals, other than pets, require a veterinary certificate, and sanitary rules exist for foodstuffs, though our sources say they are rarely enforced. The poultry sector is subject to a restrictive import policy, with a permit system considered opaque.

The Port of Maputo is operated by the Maputo Port Development Company, a joint venture between Mozambique's national railway, Emirati operator DP World and South African group Grindrod. Its draught reaches 14.5 metres at neap tide and 15.5 metres at spring tide, and it feeds rail corridors to South Africa, Eswatini and Zimbabwe: in 2022, 51.7% of the cargo handled across Mozambique's eight ports was transhipment to a neighbouring country.

The Port of Beira is operated by Cornelder de Moçambique, a joint venture between Mozambique's national railway and Dutch group Cornelder. Its container terminal has a projected capacity of 400,000 TEU a year and a draught of around 12 metres; it serves Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, the DRC and Botswana.

Our sources could not confirm a single transit time between southern China and Maputo or Beira: ask your freight forwarder. FOB from Guangzhou, Shenzhen or Yantian suits a buyer who arranges transport themselves; CIF or CFR suit cases where an intermediary handles it. DDP remains inadvisable as long as the Chinese seller is not itself a licensed customs declarant in Mozambique.

Mozambique regulates foreign exchange through prior authorisation from the Bank of Mozambique: before buying currency to pay a Chinese supplier, a Mozambican company must obtain, through its bank, an exchange authorisation bulletin on presentation of the documents relating to the goods. No standard processing time is published, so it is best to start the process as soon as the proforma invoice is signed.

On payment, the same rule applies everywhere: pay into the Chinese company's business account, never a personal account, and confirm by phone any change of bank details received by email.

A first order follows a set sequence: specifications, factory verification, sample, proforma invoice with an Incoterm, exchange authorisation and inspection file in parallel, production follow-up, pre-shipment inspection, freight to Maputo or Beira, and customs clearance handled by the client or their broker.

Sorva is a sourcing and trading house based in Guangzhou, in the Tianhe district, backed by a Chinese subsidiary whose business scope covers buying, reselling and exporting goods, and by a parent company in France. Our Mandarin-speaking team finds and vets factories, arranges visits and samples, negotiates, has quality checked before loading and arranges freight to the ports of Maputo and Beira, while putting together the documents needed for the inspection file. We never act as the official importer in Mozambique, do not clear customs locally, and do not export vehicles ourselves without going through a licensed Chinese exporter. Our base offer is invoiced in dollars, with regional options quoted on request. Contact: [email protected] or WhatsApp +33 6 15 55 62 52.