1.

You are an experienced Forwarding agent and currently advising your new
customers on Importing and Exporting goods within Mauritius.
a) Use five Regulations as per Customs Act 1988 to advise which goods that
can imported or exported in Mauritius.
Sections (62, 63, 64, 65, and 66) of Part VI in Customs Ac 1988 explain the regulation
of forbidden products. There are certain things that cannot be imported or exported
because they are prohibited by the government. These sections take into account all
of the conditions that will result in the particular item being banned from the
national market. Exports will be less reliant on Mauritius customs regulations,
because determining whether a commodity is prohibited will mostly depend on the
destination country's customs laws. However, in specific cases due to enactment (see
section 64); export may be prohibited due to a certain restriction imposed by
government legislation. These types of goods restricted for export are seen in MRA’s
consumer protection regulation 2000 and they are rice, Wheat or Meslin flour, Sand,
Limestone, Cement, Textiles and textile-articles for export to USA and Canada, and
Rough diamonds.
As per section 63, (a) it stipulate that counterfeit coin are considered as prohibited by
the country and (b) that taking the trademark or brand identity, name, address of
another company to ascribe it to another product to benefit from specific character of
the product manufacture.
(c) Prohibited imports also consider a prohibition because the government is passing
legislation on the imported good.
In section 65, it stipulates that goods with other destination outside Mauritius cannot
be imported in Mauritius rather on the port or on the airport if the good are specified
on the manifest, are not transshipped or landed in Mauritius or are transshipped or
landed by the concern authority.
The section 66 shows that imported goods has an imposed restriction and condition
based under any enactment and if the violating the specific condition and restriction,
the import will have to be prohibited. One basic example of restricted import as per
the consumer protection regulations 2020 is food products, it states clearly that no
person is agreed to import foods if the foods product does not have at least 50% shelf
life based on the estimated time of the shipment. These food products under this
restriction are canned pulses, chili sauces, dairy drinks, flavored milk, margarine,
pickles, soya sauces, spread, tomato sauces and yoghurt.
 b) A multinational company is willing to establish its business operation in
Mauritius in the Free Trade Zone. Discuss the incentives that Mauritius
provide to companies willing to operate in FTZ and list five drawbacks of
such initiatives.
A Free Trade Zone is exactly a special economic zone. In this type of zone, goods are
exempt from duties, stored, handled, manufactured, reconfigured, assembled,
imported and exported under customs regulations. They offer warehousing,
transhipment, re-export operation and distribution facilities. Mauritius’s free trade
zone legislation several fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for multinational companies
and other business types. The first incentive is the zero percent corporate tax. A
corporate tax is a tax impose by the government on the income of a company.
Therefore, tax burden is reduced and increasing the profit of the company. It is also
advantageous to the economy of the country with zero corporate tax on FTZ because
it create employment, boost economic growth and attract more investors. The major
drawbacks of such policy (incentive) will be that it may be consider as a shortfall for
the country. In fact, having zero corporate tax could lead to a loss in public revenue
of the country and if we take into account the public which to have been said by
CEIC to have mounted to 366,678.050 MUR million in March 2023.
Preferential markets access is another incentives brought by FTZ to companies.
Preferential market access is a market opening because of establish free trade
agreement. This help transpass the market barrier. In fact, trade agreement has
permit Mauritius export to attain European Union and United States and this was
done through the two agreements, which are Interim Economic Partnership
Agreement and Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
In addition, Mauritius has a preferential opening market on the Eastern and
Southern Africa through the agreements between the Common Market for Eastern
and Southern Africa (COMESA) and Southern Africa Development Community
(SADC).
These agreements actually give incentive for multinational companies to attain other
markets more directly. The major drawback will be that MNC could engulf the
preferential market access because they do have better experience on how to
integrate market easily and, therefore, killing Mauritius’s export. In fact, this will be
mostly dependent on the type good produce on free trade zone by the MNC and the
goods exports from Mauritius. It will be danger if ever the MNC become a
competitor.
A third incentive is the availability and accessibility of offshore banking facilities.
Having offshore banking is a critical factor for MNC’s and it is any banking operate
in the home country and outside the country. The major advantage to the
accessibility of offshore banking is that it ease the financial transactions and
operations. There is also set up of financial holding companies, they offer services
that are more varied than banking itself. They operate as an advisor when it comes
investment and they do focus on insurance underwriting, securities dealing, and
merchant banking.
c) The multinational company wants to use a bonded warehouse for its
imports. Apply Five (5) roles of a bonded warehouse by describing its
characteristics mentioned under Section 65 of the Customs Act 1967.
Five major roles of a bonded warehouse are re-packing, re-labeling for import goods,
devanning, consolidation / LCL, entrepot. The role of re-packing refer to putting
goods or items together (into sets) for protection during transportation and storage.
In important to emphasize marketing packaging differs from logistics packaging.
Logistics packaging are more adequate for every types of warehouse, and provide
safety and security.
Re-labelling consider to input new information (new label) on product before it
penetrate the market. The distributor does a well-revised plan or importer before
these products are released in the local markets.
The role of devanning at bonded warehouse explain that an importer has right to sell
its goods direct to the wholesaler despite the duties are yet paid.
Bonded warehouse plays role of consolidation, in fact, consolidation is mostly
undertake from licensed warehouse, bonded warehouse and free zone.
Consolidation is the process through which a carrier or shipping business merges
multiple smaller shipments into one big container.
Entrepot or a transshipment port is a port, city, or trading station where goods are
imported, stored, or traded before being ship again.
2. You have been working at Mauritius Customs Brokers Ltd as Clearing Officer
and you have been assigned to clear the 2 * 20”Ft of Basmati Rice for
Supreme Cargo Ltd from India. The Consignment will reach Port Louis on
30th May 2023 from Port of Karachi, Pakistan. The Terms of trade is on CIF
basis
i. Build up the documents required for clearing of this cargo.

 A bill of lading is a legal document issued by a carrier to a shipper that

details the type, quantity, description of goods, and destination of the
goods being carried. It represents also the agreed term and condition for
carrying the goods to destination.
 Commercial invoice is a document which is used for custom valuation,
access duties and taxes that are payable and to obtain other relevant
information such as quantity, value and detail description
 Packing list is a document listing all the items in the cargo shipment, along
with the quantity, weights and dimensions. It help customs authorities for
an overall verification.
 A certificate of origin is often used demanded by customs officer because
shows the origin of cargo or if the cargo beneficiate from a free trade
agreement and thus assess the applicable duties.
 Import license is document from the custom authorities to import the
particular good into the country.
 A customs declaration form contains information on the items, their
worth, and the customs charges and taxes that apply. It may include extra
information, such as the commodities' Harmonized System (HS) codes.
 An insurance certificate may be required if the products are insured
during transit. It serves as proof of insurance coverage and safeguards
against loss or damage.
 Might include phytosanitary certificate because uncooked rice might have
bacillus cereus, which is bacteria causing vomiting and diarrhea and even
if the rice is cooked it still have these bacteria. Therefore, phytosanitary
certificate is used to certificate the disease-proof of the product for
consumption. It is NPPO, which is responsible for implementing the
obligation of Mauritius within International Plant Protection Convention
and they do issue phytosanitary certificate.
 ii. Discuss all the information that will be required for the submission of
Customs Declaration on TradeNets.
Trade Net is first electronic data interchange (EDI) used here in Mauritius. This
electronic system was launched since 28th July since 1994, it allows shipper, freight
forwarder, customs brokers to make submission of document on this platform.
1. Importer Details:
 name and contact information
 Importer national identity card (e.g., TAN or Customs Registration
number)
 business registration information
 Customs permit information (if applicable)
2. Shipping Information:
 2 x 20-foot canisters of Basmati rice
 2 containers are available.
 Containers are the unit of measurement.
 Price of the goods: Total value in the selected currency (for example, USD)
 The following currencies are used for valuation: The currency in which the
value is presented (for example, USD)
 Goods' country of origin: Basmati Rice has the following India
Harmonized System (HS) code(s): Give the precise HS code(s) for Basmati
Rice (for example, HS code 1006.30.10 for semi-milled or fully milled rice).
3. Details on transportation:
 Conveyance mode: Indicate the mode of conveyance (for example, sea).
 Name and contact information for the shipping company or carrier
 Details about the vessel/flight: Provide the vessel's name and trip number
(if relevant).
 Loading port: Indicate the Indian port where the consignment will be
loaded.
 Port of discharge: Indicate the destination port where the shipment will be
unloaded.
 Number of the Bill of Lading/Airway Bill: Provide the Bill of Lading or
Airway Bill number.
4. Customs Procedures and Additional Information:
 Customs procedure code: Choose the appropriate code that corresponds to
the import procedure for home use or any other applicable code based on the
individual customs laws.
 Customs payment information: Provide information on any customs charges
or taxes owed for the importation of Basmati rice (if applicable).
 Trade treaties or special tariff treatment: Indicate if any trade agreements or
favourable tariff treatments apply to the importation of Basmati rice.
 Any licenses, permissions, or certifications required. Check to see whether
any special licenses, permissions, or certifications are necessary for the
 importing of Basmati rice, such as import licenses or phytosanitary
certificates.
5. Documentation Support:
 Include a commercial invoice that details the shipping of Basmati Rice,
including the amount, value, and other pertinent information.
 Packing list: Make a packing list outlining the contents of each container,
including the weight, amount, and measurements.
 Certificate of Origin: Obtain a Certificate of Origin that confirms the Basmati
Rice's origin as being from India.
 Insurance Certificate: If the shipment is insured during transportation,
provide an insurance certificate.

iii. Produce a flowchart of the Clearing process with all possible outcomes.
 Customs Brokers emit
a notice of arrival to all
customs

Submit/original
Bill of lading
with the notice of
arrival

Customs Declaration
bill of entry
Cargo detail (size&dimension)
Upload necessary document
Bill of lading
Commercial Invoice
Packing list

Customs
Examination

Duties and Taxes

applicable by
customs

Risk Assesment
and Security

Release and
Delivery

iv. Describe why EDI transmission of information is an efficient way of

communication between Customs brokers and Customs.
Custom broker’s major responsibility is to facilitate customs documentation for the
client and they are often affiliate with freight forwarders. Their main responsibilities
is to ensure that the clearance procedure are done in timely way. EDI is platform for
communicating, transmitting and uploading information for declaration of imported
or exported goods.
EDI permit that message are pass on correctively without errors, reducing lead time
for paperwork. It has more economical in some way with the administrative process.
In fact, industries were making huge losses with the amount of paperwork from
both the customs brokers and customs authority. There is a significant change with
the use of EDI and loss document is merely heard because everything is stored in the
database and thus nothing is loose.

References
1. Mauritius Public Debt: Domestic | Economic Indicators | CEIC
(ceicdata.com)
2. SelectedProhibitedGoods.pdf (mra.mu)
3. CUSTOMS ACT 1988 (mra.mu)
4. The Mauritius Freeport - Mauritius Trade Easy - Expanding markets and
Facilitating compliance