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The Customs Authority is obliged to give priority to transit operations of certain goods, namely: live animals; newspapers and magazines; medicine; certain hazardous materials; (...)

Preferential tariffs are in place for SADC members; the transition period for tariff liberalization was completed, as scheduled, for all SADC members (except South Africa) by 2012 and for South Africa by 2015. 99.6% of duties on goods originating from SADC members are now at zero. The remaining 0.4% of dutiable lines (22 tariff lines at the HS eight-digit level) have been exempt from tariff reductions; these relate to arms and ammunition (and parts and accessories thereof) and ivory, tortoise-shell, whalebone and whalebone hair, horns, antlers, hooves, nails, claws and beaks (Table 3.11). Tariff liberalization under the SADC–EU EPA will be implemented upon entry into force of the agreement (Section 2).

(...) Mozambique also applies import prohibitions under the multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) to which it is a party.

At the time of Mozambique's previous Review, prior approval was required for imports of products containing GMOs. New legislation on GMOs entered into force in 2014 (Section 3.1.8), however, information was not available on its implications for trade in these products. Import authorizations are required for each consignment of medicinal products and pesticides (Section 3.1.1) and the import of live animals for aquaculture is subject to the approval of the Ministry of Fisheries. Raw tobacco may only be imported by producers of tobacco products.

As noted in Mozambique's previous Review, demands for voluntary standards typically originate in the private sector, via the Confederation of Economic Associations (Confederação das Associações Económicas, CTA), and are communicated to the INNOQ (Instituto Nacional de Normalização e Qualidade). The INNOQ has a three-year strategic plan for standard setting, which it develops in consultation with stakeholders. Proposed standards are considered by one of the INNOQ's five sectoral technical committees. [60] (...)

[60] These committees are: CTNS aap (food, health, agro-industry, fisheries, chemical products and environment); CTNS eec (electrotechnical engineering, electronics and communication); CTNS gaq (quality management, environmental management, safety and basic standards); CTNS cdm (civil engineering, technical design, wood and forests); and CTNS mct (mechanical engineering, fuel, boilers and pressurised containers and transport).

As set out in Chapter IV of Decree No. 57/2009, the development of technical regulations is the responsibility of the competent authorities (ministries or state institutions) in areas where the product or service process may pose risks to the health and safety of the consumer or the environment. (...)

Over the review period, there have been several changes to SPS-related laws and regulations, namely in the areas of: animal health; plant health; GMOs; seeds; pesticides; and food of aquatic origin.

Decree No. 5/2009 of 1 June 2009 on the Regulation of Phytosanitary Inspection and Plant Quarantine aims to prevent and control pest propagation in the country. In particular, its objectives are to prevent the introduction and spread of harmful organisms; to control and eradicate such pests; and to secure the necessary means to undertake phytosanitary inspection and certification of imports and exports. (...)

The regulation of seeds is governed by the Seeds Regulation Decree No. 12/2013 of 10 April 2013, which revokes an earlier decree dating back to 1994 and its implementing regulations. The new Decree consolidates various seed-related regulations into one; it introduces a system for plant variety registration at the SADC level and standards for the certification of seeds; and it removes a prohibition on GMO seed (which now comes under Decree No. 17/2014). (...)

A new decree on GMOs entered into force in 2014 (Decree No. 17/2014). However, a copy of this legislation was not made available and its implications for the production and trade of products containing GMOs could not be ascertained.