Importing From China to Madagascar: Customs, CTN, Costs 2026

Madagascar imported around 818.5 million dollars worth of Chinese goods in 2023, according to Comtrade. Most of this freight enters through the port of Toamasina, described in the sources consulted as the country's main port.

Textiles hold a particular place: factories in Madagascar's free trade zone, which export finished garments to the United States under AGOA, import much of their fabric and accessories from Asia. Construction materials track growth in construction and mining. Solar equipment finds a market tied to an incomplete national power grid.

Our sources identified no bilateral free trade agreement between Madagascar and China: trade remains governed by most favored nation status at the WTO, of which Madagascar has been a member since 1995. The country does apply regional preferences unrelated to China: duty free access within the Indian Ocean Commission since 1992, the COMESA free trade area since 2000, preferential access under SADC since 2005, and duty free, quota free access to the European Union under the 2009 interim Economic Partnership Agreement.

Madagascar ratified the African Continental Free Trade Area in December 2024, becoming the 49th country to do so. None of these preferences reduce the duties charged on a Chinese product, which is subject to the standard national tariff described below.

Madagascar's customs tariff applies rates of 5 to 20%, revised each year during the budget process. About 40% of imports are taxed at the maximum rate of 20%, a bracket that covers beverages, fishery products, flora and fauna, and textiles among others. Mining and textiles sometimes benefit from industrial promotion schemes that exempt all or part of duties and VAT, under conditions.

Import VAT is set at 20%, stable for several years. Customs authorities generally calculate this tax on the CIF value plus the customs duty already charged: on a shipment with a CIF value of 10,000,000 ariary taxed at 20%, the duty comes to 2,000,000 ariary, the taxable base reaches 12,000,000 ariary and VAT comes to 2,400,000 ariary, for total charges of 4,400,000 ariary, or 44% of the CIF value. This method, common in most customs regimes, still needs to be confirmed line by line with a freight forwarder, since no detailed schedule is freely available for every tariff heading.

Six documents consistently appear in an import file for Madagascar: the Cargo Tracking Note, the commercial invoice, the packing list, the bill of lading or air waybill, the import declaration and the certificate of origin, along with proof of bank payment.

The Cargo Tracking Note, known locally as the BSC, is filed online before the goods arrive, generally through the Malagasy single window operated by GasyNet: this procedural point, like the amount of the associated fee, still needs to be confirmed with a freight forwarder at the time of shipment.

The Madagascar Bureau of Standards, the BNM, is the national standards body: it develops Malagasy standards through 48 technical committees, manages more than 200 of them, and represents the country at the International Organization for Standardization, the International Electrotechnical Commission, the International Organization of Legal Metrology and the Codex Alimentarius.

The BNM issues two conformity marks, NMG and Halal NMG, and offers approval for certain products before they reach the Malagasy market. Our sources describe no pre-shipment conformity verification program applying to all imports: whether BNM approval is needed should be checked directly with the bureau, product by product.

Radioactive waste from nuclear plants, pornographic material, counterfeit or pirated goods, and goods with false origin markings are banned from import.

Other products require prior authorization: firearms, ammunition and explosives, narcotics, diamonds and precious stones, gold and platinum jewelry, vanilla, tobacco leaves, and lubricants, the last of which need an import license. Most other goods do not require a license, but checking with customs authorities is still recommended before ordering a sensitive category.

Toamasina remains Madagascar's leading international freight port, well ahead of other entry points. From southern China, freight most often departs from Guangzhou, Shenzhen or Yantian; our sources do not give a single verifiable transit time to Toamasina, which should be requested from a freight forwarder at the time of booking.

Air freight, via Antananarivo, is reserved for urgent or lightweight shipments. For a first shipment, FOB from southern China works if the client arranges transport, CIF or CFR if an intermediary handles it through to Toamasina. DDP is not advisable as long as the Chinese seller is not a registered customs declarant in Madagascar.

On payment, common practice remains a deposit at order and a balance before shipment, paid only to the Chinese company's business account, never a personal account: a change of bank details received by email should always be verified with a direct call before any transfer, since this type of fraud is common in sourcing.

A first order follows a set sequence: specifications, factory verification, approved sample, proforma invoice with Incoterm, BNM approval file started in parallel if the product needs it, production follow up, pre-shipment inspection, freight to Toamasina, then customs clearance handled by the client or their local freight forwarder on arrival.

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 Chinese speaking team finds and vets factories, arranges visits and samples, negotiates prices and terms, has quality checked before loading and arranges freight through to the port of Toamasina, while gathering the documents needed for a BNM approval file when the product requires one. We never act as the official importer of record in Madagascar, do not clear customs on site, and do not export vehicles ourselves without going through a licensed Chinese exporter. Our base service is priced in US dollars, with region specific options, such as documentation support for BNM approval, quoted on request.