Mozambique: State loses US$27 million in vehicle imports

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Mozambique: State loses US$27 million in vehicle imports

8:53 CAT | 10 Dec 2020

File photo: Domingo

The Mozambican state is experiencing a reduction in revenue from vehicle imports because of the new coronavirus, which has closed most borders since March, affecting international trade, reducing the circulation of goods, and creating a scarcity of dollars in the market.

As a result, up until mid-November this year, the Mozambican state collected only about six billion meticais in taxes from the import of vehicles, against the eight billion in the same period of 2019. The figure represents a reduction of more than two billion meticais[around US US$27 million at current exchange rates]. For the same reason, the total import cost, including the purchase and delivery of the vehicle – the so-called CIF, or cost, insurance, and freight – fell from 46.5 billion meticais last year to 36.9 billion in the period under review.

Up until mid-November, the country imported 44,228 vehicles, against 53,387 last year. Of those vehicles imported, 21,354 are second-hand cars with up to seven years use, and the other 22,874 with more than seven years use.

However, as a consequence of the pandemic, maritime traffic has dropped significantly and, with it, the volume of imports, including vehicles, which, in the case of Mozambique, come mostly from Japan.

In addition, in compliance with the state of emergency, one of the measures applied at the ports is the mandatory 14 days quarantine for crews of ships arriving at the Mozambique channel.

Source: Jornal Domingo