Mozambique: Govt to approve new Legal Framework for Commercial Activity and Mercantile Services

The measures are contained in Law No. 18/2026, seen by Lusa, which grants the Government powers to approve, within 180 days, by 29 December, a new Legal Framework for the Exercise of Commercial Activity and the Provision of Mercantile Services (Regime Jurídico relativo ao Exercício da Atividade Comercial e da Prestação de Serviços Mercantis). According to the law, approved by parliament following a Government proposal, the future reform should create “a regulatory framework that contributes to the organisation of commercial activity and the provision of mercantile services, in the interest of improving the business environment and the sound development of this segment of economic activity”.

Among the planned changes is the creation of a legal framework for after-sales guarantees on goods and services. In this regard, the Mozambican parliament authorises the Government to “establish the framework for guarantees on goods and services after sale”, an area that currently lacks a specific and comprehensive regime for trade in general. The measure paves the way for defining the rights and obligations of consumers and traders after a sale or service provision has been completed, including matters related to technical assistance, repairs, product replacement or other mechanisms to protect buyers.

Besides consumer rights, the new legal framework is to clarify responsibilities for commercial operators, with the Government authorised to “establish the obligations of traders and providers of mercantile services and the mechanisms for State action in commercial activity”. In practice, the measure will allow for the definition of specific duties for traders and providers of mercantile services, as well as the inspection and intervention mechanisms available to public authorities in the commercial sector. The future legislation is also expected to introduce its own sanctions regime, as the legislative authorisation allows the Government to “establish the sanctions framework applicable to economic agents that breach the provisions of the Legal Framework applicable to the Organisation of Commercial Activity and the Provision of Mercantile Services”.

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Although the law does not specify the sanctions, the authorisation allows for the definition of fines and other penalties applicable to companies and commercial operators that violate the future commercial rules. Among other areas covered by the reform, the Government may also “classify the commercial network and the provision of mercantile services according to their size”, creating categories for different types of commercial operators. The legislation also authorises the executive to “clarify the different activities that may be carried out by traders” and to “classify the forms of exercising commercial activity”, seeking to organise and legally frame the different forms of business existing in the market.

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