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Article 13 of Special Law No. 73 009 of 5 January 1973 on trade, as amended in 1974, stipulates that the Minister responsible for foreign trade is empowered to take restrictive measures and prohibit the import of certain products. Such measures may be imposed for reasons of security and morality, to protect public health and the environment, or because of their strategic nature. The exchange regulations define the list of products subject to prior declarations, the corresponding regime being administered by the Central Bank of the Congo. Frontier traffic is not affected.

Table 3.5 List of prohibited imports, 2015
Hazardous waste and its sale
Goods prohibited by the Montreal Protocol (CFCs)
All varieties of genetically modified or transgenic seeds, except for those intended for food aid programmes
(...)

Table 3.6 List of products subject to authorizations, 2016
List of authorizations by Ministry and by product
viii. Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism
a. Permit to exploit wildlife products and by products
(import, export and re export of animals, whether or not protected)
1. Totally protected animals
2. Partially protected animals
3. By products
4. Unprotected animals
b. Phytosanitary certificate for exporting timber
1. Logs, class 1
2. Logs, class 2
3. Sawnwood, edged
(...)

(...) an Interministerial Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Commission has been set up by Ministerial Order No. 013 of 13 August 2011 to ensure a better distribution of roles among these various departments. This Commission, which is chaired by the Secretary General for Trade and for which the OCC is acting as secretariat, consists of the Ministries responsible for trade, small and medium sized enterprises, the national economy, agriculture, fisheries and livestock, public health, and the environment, nature conservation and tourism; the OCC; the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DGDA); and the Congolese National Police (Border Police).

The authorities have indicated that there are no legal provisions on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), but that a draft law is under consideration.

National provisions apply to packaging whether it is manufactured or used locally or imported. They are intended to guarantee people's personal safety and security and protect the environment. Accordingly, materials used for packaging must not present any risk of leakage of the substances they contain and, if their condition deteriorates over time, the packaging must be clearly labelled to that effect. The legislation also provides that the packaging must be reusable, recyclable and/or biodegradable. According to the authorities, the DRC's current legislation was drawn up in conformity with the technical regulations of ISO and the World Packaging Organisation (WPO). The Packaging Standardization Directorate (DNE) in the Ministry of Transport and Communications is responsible for the monitoring and implementation of the regulations on packaging.

In addition, there are several other regulations (...) the Interministerial Order prohibiting non biodegradable packaging; (...)

The quantitative restrictions (including prohibitions) and controls applicable to exports stem mainly from the treaties to which the DRC is party. [49] (...)

[49] Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste, CITES, etc.

Timber may only be exported in the form of logs by owners of duly authorized operational processing units and national foresters for a maximum period of ten years from the date on which the exploitation commenced and under a quota that must not exceed 30% of their total annual output. Moreover, forestry operators must set up sawmills at the various tree felling sites in order to create jobs.

Special permits are required to export precious substances and species of wild fauna and flora listed in the appendices to the CITES. The DRC has not signed an export self limitation agreement and does not apply voluntary export restrictions.