Importing a production line into Mozambique from China: the 2026 route
The money: bands, IVA, and the 2026 game-changer
| Charge | 2026 basis | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Customs duty | Ad valorem on CIF, by band | Capital-class goods in the low bands (0–5%); consumer goods up to 20%; the 8-digit code decides |
| IVA | 16% on customs value + duty + charges | Exempt under special customs regimes (SEZ/ZFI, bonded, temporary importation) |
| SEZ / ZFI (Decreto 12/2026) | Customs duties suspended on qualifying equipment | New regime of 13 April 2026, aligned to Investment Law 8/2023 — eligibility is a structuring exercise done before ordering |
Two 2026 realities to plan around. First, the SEZ/ZFI question should be asked before any order is placed — for a qualifying industrial operation, duty suspension plus IVA relief on the equipment changes the project arithmetic, and retrofitting eligibility after arrival doesn't work. Second, Mozambique has been rewriting its customs and tax procedure codes in 2026 — online rate tables age fast, which is why our quotes state the duty and IVA assumptions in writing rather than pointing at a website.
The route: coastal, by region
Maputo serves the south — and the Matola industrial belt where most of our Mozambican conversations happen; Beira and Nacala serve the centre and north. Coastal economics apply: ×1.25–1.45 landed-and-installed on ex-China equipment, with the inland leg and offloading planned as part of the delivery, not improvised at the port.
Which of the three you use is usually settled by geography rather than by a freight comparison: Maputo for the south, Beira for the centre, Nacala for the north, because the inland leg is what dominates the number once the box is on the ground. Two things are worth confirming before the route is fixed. The first is whether the corridor has recently carried cargo like yours — a road that handles containers every week is not automatically a road that handles an over-height crate, and permits, bridges and clearances have to be surveyed rather than assumed. The second is offloading: who supplies the crane, on whose insurance, and whether the site can take it. Settle both at quotation, and the ×1.25–1.45 factor holds; discover them at the port and it will not.
What CISH does on a Mozambique import
- Before order: tariff classification, the SEZ/ZFI eligibility conversation where it applies, and a factory acceptance test before shipment.
- In transit and at port: consolidated freight, insurance, clearing with documents ahead of the vessel.
- To your floor: the inland leg, offloading, then installation, commissioning and training — instalação e treinamento inside one contract, in Portuguese where your team works in Portuguese.
Market context — blocks, milling, bottling — is on the Mozambique country page (em português).
Resumo em português
Os direitos aduaneiros sobre máquinas incidem sobre o valor CIF por escalão pautal — bens de capital nos escalões baixos, bens de consumo até 20% — e o IVA de importação é de 16% sobre o valor aduaneiro mais direitos. A grande mudança de 2026 é o Decreto 12/2026, de 13 de Abril: o novo regulamento das Zonas Económicas Especiais e Zonas Francas Industriais suspende os direitos aduaneiros sobre equipamentos para operações qualificadas, com isenção de IVA nos regimes especiais. A entrada é costeira — Maputo, Beira ou Nacala — com fator de ×1,25–1,45 para o total instalado. A CISH confirma a classificação pautal na cotação, trata do transporte, do desalfandegamento e da instalação, e entrega a linha a funcionar — com treinamento incluído. Todos os valores em USD.
What importers ask · Perguntas frequentes
Ad valorem duty on CIF by band — capital-class goods in the low bands (0–5%), consumer goods up to 20% — plus 16% IVA on customs value and duty. The 8-digit code decides; our quotes state the assumptions in writing.
It established the new SEZ/Industrial Free Zone regime (aligned to Investment Law 8/2023): customs duties suspended on qualifying equipment, IVA relief under the special regimes. For an eligible industrial project it materially changes the landed cost — structure it before ordering.
Direitos aduaneiros sobre o valor CIF por escalão — bens de capital nos escalões baixos — e IVA de 16% sobre o valor aduaneiro mais direitos. Nas ZEE e Zonas Francas Industriais, o Decreto 12/2026 suspende os direitos sobre equipamentos qualificados. Confirmamos tudo na cotação, por escrito.
On the quote, buying direct is usually cheaper; for the project as a whole, not necessarily. The quote assumes you already have six capabilities — specification, supplier screening, negotiation, shipping and duties, commissioning, maintenance — and can carry the risk of the project failing. What those cost you, in time and in tuition, is the real comparison: Is buying through CISH more expensive?
Primary sources
- US ITA — Mozambique Country Commercial Guide: Import Tariffs (duties 0–25%, consumer goods 20%, VAT 16%)
- Rádio Moçambique — Governo regula Zonas Económicas Especiais para impulsionar a indústria (17 Feb 2026)
- Imprensa Nacional de Moçambique — Boletim da República (official gazette portal)
- CFM — Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (ports of Nacala, Beira, Maputo)
Landing a line in Mozambique? · A planear uma linha?
Tell us the line and the site — we'll come back with the classification, the SEZ/ZFI answer and the landed number, in writing. Falamos português.