Mauritius commenced trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) following the official launch of trade by the AfCFTA Secretariat on 1 January 2021.
The government introduced the following changes to the domestic legislation in order to implement the AfCFTA:
- the First Schedule of the Customs Tariff Act to include the rate of customs duty applicable to goods imported under AfCFTA; and
- the Customs (Export to the AfCFTA) Regulations 2021
The Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) has created customs procedure codes to facilitate the proper implementation of trading under AfCFTA. A person must be authorized by the MRA to be an approved exporter in order to export originating goods by completing an origin declaration on an invoice or any other commercial document. Approved exporters can apply for a certificate of origin electronically on the Tradenet portal. A list of States which have already implemented the provisions of AfCFTA has also been published.
The changes to the domestic legislation were promulgated under Government Gazette No. 13 of 6 February 2021 and apply with effect from 1 January 2021.