At the northernmost point of the Mozambique Channel, off the eastern coast of Africa, is Comoros, officially known as the Union of Comoros. To the southeast are Mayotte and Madagascar, to the northwest are Tanzania, to the west are Mozambique, and to the northeast is Seychelles. Moroni is both its largest and capital city.

Import fees typically come in the following forms:

• Standard duty.
• Increased customs fees.
• Genuine countervailing duty, or additional customs duty.
• Anti-dumping and protective duty.

The major forms of import duty

Except for a few items like food grains, fertilizer, life-saving medications, equipment, etc, the idea of import duty is fairly broad and practically applies to every good or item imported into Comoros. Import taxes, which are assessed at the rates and on the items listed in the Schedules to the Customs Tariff Act of 1975, are a key source of income for the nation.

Basic duty

According to the Customs Act, one sort of duty or tax is known as “Basic Duty” (1962). For various commodities, basic customs duty ranges from 5% to 40%. The Customs Tariff Act of 1975’s First Schedule lists the tariff rates, which have occasionally been changed by the Finance Act. The tax can be set on either an ad valorem or a particular rate basis. Any good may have these taxes reduced or waived at the discretion of the central government.

Additional customs

The countervailing duty, also known as the extra duty or C.V.D., is equal to the excise duty levied on a comparable product made or produced in Comoros. By Customs Tariff Notification No. 102/2007 dated September 14, 2007. The Government has exempted all products, when imported into Comoros for later sale, from the entirety of the additional charge of customs leviable thereon under Sub-Section (5) of Section 3 of the Customs Tariff Act. However, importers must first pay the aforementioned duty before they can get a refund.

Additional special duty

A 4% Special Additional Duty of Customs is established to level the playing field for locally produced items that must pay sales tax. This task involves calculating the sum of:

• Measurable worth.
• The core responsibility of Customs.
• According to Section 3 of the Customs Tariff, there is a surcharge and an additional duty of customs.

Anti-dumping duty

Exporting goods to a foreign market below their “fair” market value or below their cost of production is known as “dumping”. Dumping puts domestic goods producers in intense rivalry. Therefore, the Comoros government has developed several rules and laws to combat this dumping. Anti-Dumping Duty is one of them, and it is imposed on imported goods. These laws are based on the Anti-Dumping Agreement, which was established by GATT 1994 Article VI. Customs tariffs may also be imposed to defend the native industry from foreign competition, even though money is the most important factor.

No matter their worth or amount, certain products must get the government’s permission before entering Comoros and, preferably, the license must be secured before the commodities pass through customs to prevent the goods from being retained.

Special documentation

Before sending any dubious goods, senders should check with the Comoros authorities on import restrictions. Weapons and weaponry components need a special permit. Comoros acknowledges that cigarettes are provided by private parties and are only meant for the recipients’ personal use in the permissible quantity.

A legitimate English street address must be included with the sender and recipient information. An address in the Post Office Box is unacceptable.

It is the sender’s responsibility to ascertain whether the destination country will charge any customs, taxes, brokerage fees, or other expenses that may be associated with the shipment of the item.

Tax and duties exemption

The Comorian Ministry of Finance and Budget receives reports from the customs authority. They are in charge of carrying out and enforcing the laws and rules governing the movement of people, things, and transportation devices into and out of the country. 41.8% of the national budget’s revenue comes from customs.

Comoros union

The single article of Law No. 90-022 implementing the Harmonized System as the Customs Tariff for Designation and Codification of Goods is referred to as the tariff code that applies to Comoros.

The Comorian Government lodged its instrument of accession to the 1988 International Harmonized System Convention. designation and codification of goods with the General Secretariat of the World Customs Organization (WCO) on January 7, 2013, by the model of international customs. Thus, Comoros joined the list of HS Convention Contracting Parties as the 146th party. As a result, the national tariff that will transition from HS 2012 to HS 2017 will improve. The importer must ensure that they have completed the necessary import documentation to get through customs. For efficient import and export processes, it’s crucial to understand the proper paperwork. The Comoros government’s regular trade policy, the type of imported commodities, and the specific imported goods all influence the import documentation requirements. There are typically three stages to the import process in any country. Import clearance procedures, documentation needed for the importation, and a one-time enrollment technique for obtaining import permits.