Trade Agreements

Southern African Development Community (SADC)

The SADC Free Trade Area (FTA) was officially launched in August 2008 by 12 of the 15 Member States. The implementation of the SADC Trade Protocol started in the year 2000 with the gradual elimination of customs duties on 85% of tariff lines by 2008. For Mauritius, tariffs on the remaining 'sensitive products' were completely eliminated in January 2014.

Member States

The SADC Members States are: Comoros, Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

It is to be noted that Malawi, Tanzania and Zimbabwe do not offer full duty access and still maintain duties on a few products while Angola and Democratic Republic of Congo are not participating in the FTA and therefore do not confer any tariff reductions under the SADC Trade Protocol.

The Agreement

• SADC Treaty
• SADC Trade Protocol 2014
• Annex on Rules of Origin
   

Exporting to SADC Countries

Duty Free Access to SADC Member States: Exports between SADC FTA Member States is duty free for all products except for Malawi, Zimbabwe and Tanzania. These countries still maintain customs duties on certain products.

Rules of Origin: The exporter must ensure that the products satisfy the Rules of Origin to benefit from duty-free access. The Rules of Origin are specific to products and can be viewed in the Annex on Rules of Origin.

Obtaining a SADC Certificate of Origin: The SADC Certificate of Origin (CoO) is issued and approved by Customs Department of the Mauritius Revenue Authority. More information on the SADC CoO can be obtained from the Customs Department:

Mauritius Revenue Authority
Customs Department
Customs House
Mer Rouge
Port-Louis
Tel: (230) 202 0500
Fax: (230) 216 7784
Email: customs@mra.mu
Website: www.mra.mu

The online application for the SADC CoO can be made via the TradeNet System.

Scanned copies of the following documents are required for obtaining the Certificate of Origin:

1. Export Declaration
2. Export Invoice
3. Documentary evidence for raw materialsused (such as Import Declaration, Purchase Receipts, etc)
4. Costing Certificate signed by a Certified Accountant (if applicable)
5. Any other relevant information as may be required by Customs
 

Importing from SADC Countries

All imports entering Mauritius from a SADC FTA Member State with a valid Certificate of Origin are completely exempt from customs duties.

Reporting Non-Tariff Barriers 

NTBs refer to restrictions that result from prohibitions, conditions, or specific market requirements that make importation or exportation of products difficult and/or costly.

Operators can directly report any barriers to trade encountered in the SADC region through the Non-Tariff Trade Barriers Website. The system also allows for monitoring of the resolution of the complaint filed.

 More information can be obtained on the Non-Tariff Trade Barriers Website or the MCCI which is the national private sector focal point for assisting the business community in the reporting process.

SADC Integrated Regional Electronic Settlement System (SIRESS)

Traders in the SADC region can use SIRESS to settle transactions in RAND between the SADC countries. Presently, the service is available in Barclays Bank Mauritius Limited, Standard Bank (Mauritius) Limited and The Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd. More information on SIRESS can be obtained from the Committee of Central Bank Governors website.

SADC National Focal Points

List of Focal Points of the NTBs Monitoring Committee (NMC)

Useful Links

• SADC Website
• SADC Trade Statistics
• Tralac