Mozambique: €81.5 million recovered from customs breaches between 2021 and 2025 – Tax Authority

Between 2021 and 2025, Mozambican customs recovered €81.5 million in taxes through the seizure of 4,119 various smuggled goods, in addition to recovering 7,000 kilograms of precious stones in 2025, it was announced today. “Within the framework of combating smuggling, evasion and other customs offences, between 2021 and 2025, customs authorities carried out 4,119 seizures of assorted goods, notably alcoholic beverages and vehicles, resulting in the recovery of taxes with a total value of 6.174 billion meticais (€81.5 million),” said the president of the Mozambican Tax Authority, Aníbal Mbalango. Speaking in Maputo while marking World Customs Day, Mbalango also said that in 2025 alone, this branch of Mozambique’s tax authority collected 99.9 million meticais (€1.3 million), representing 28% of the total revenue collected by the tax authority throughout the year.

Customs authorities seized more than 7,000 kilograms of precious stones and 49 cubic metres of timber last year. “Control over products listed under CITES [the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora] led to the seizure of 152 live plant specimens and 796 ivory tusks in 2024 and 2025, reinforcing the protection of endangered species affected by illegal trade,” added the president of the Tax Authority. Mbalango pointed to increasingly complex global challenges affecting Mozambican customs, namely the growth in volume and sophistication of international trade, the increasing digitalisation of transactions, the expansion of e-commerce, and the activity of transnational criminal networks, which are becoming ever more sophisticated.

At national level, he said the institution faces challenges related to the vast extent of the country’s borders and the diversity of entry points, the need to expand the digitalisation of processes and procedures across the entire national territory, and the need to improve specialised training programmes and plans, calling for concrete actions to enhance performance. “In the face of these adversities, improvement initiatives are required so that we have a modern, more effective customs authority that protects the State’s fiscal and financial interests, safeguards the national economy against the illicit movement of goods, and at the same time supports the international trade system and strengthens national competitiveness, by continuously improving customs clearance times and reducing costs and resource use for importers,” Mbalango said. Specifically, Mbalango called for improvements in continuous professional technical training and capacity-building in customs and taxation matters in general, requesting specialisation in areas such as verification, inspection and post-clearance audits of goods, including strengthening the Tactical Reaction Brigade (BRT) to enhance the fight against smuggling. Regarding infrastructure, the president of the Tax Authority called for the “expansion of the digitalisation process to all borders; therefore, the Single Electronic Window (JUE) system must be operational at all borders, as well as the rehabilitation and construction of housing at border posts, to improve accommodation for staff”.