Ministry of Trade operationalises Coga

The Ministry of Trade has operationalised the Control of Goods Act (Coga) which will curtail free for all import and export of  goods by unscrupulous traders. 

There has been growing concern about the country’s goods especially legumes being exported dubiously thereby denying the country the much needed revenue.

The Act came into effect on July 10, 2020 following the publishing of the Act in the government gazette on July 16, 2020

Announcing the development at a media briefing in Lilongwe, Minister of Trade Sosten Gwengwe said the accompanying Control of Goods Regulations came into operation on 24 July 2020.

He said the regulations include Control of Goods (Public Interest Grounds thresholds) and Control of Goods (Import and Export Licence).

Some of the goods requiring import licences include second hand clothes–second hand import of pants and bras has been banned, wild animals and associated products, meat, live poultry and associated products, fish, eggs, fresh milk, maize, fruits, cane sugar, bottled water, cement, salt among others.

Some products requiring export permit include implements of war, petroleum products, scrap metal, gemstones, hides and skins, rice, raw round hardwood timbers, soybeans, cotton lint and seed, oil seeds among others.