Overview
The Instituto Nacional de Normalização e Qualidade (INNOQ), or the National Institute for Normalization and Standards in Mozambique, is the national standards body. Established in 1983 under Mozambique’s Ministry of Industry and Energy, INNOQ is responsible for defining and implementing quality policy. INNOQ also coordinates all standardization and quality activities at the national level. INNOQ promotes standardization and quality in manufacturing and services and cooperates with regional and international organizations working in these fields.
Further information regarding the Mozambican standards system may be obtained on INNOQ’s website.
Standards
Mozambique is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and is required under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) to report to the WTO all proposed technical regulations that could affect trade with other member countries.
Mozambique participates in ASTM’s memorandum of understanding (MOU) program, which promotes communication between national standards bodies and ASTM International to foster awareness of the standardization systems of all those involved. The program also facilitates the development of national standards to improve MOU partner countries’ health, safety, environmental and economic conditions. INNOQ has adopted several test methods developed and maintained by Committee D02 on Petroleum Products and Lubricants. The standards cover diverse aspects of fuels.
Testing, Inspection, and Certification
INNOQ is a member of the International Standards Organization (ISO) and can issue ISO 9001 certificates. INNOQ is judicially and administratively an autonomous body that has been operating under the Ministry of Industry and Trade since 2000. INNOQ acts as the recognized central body responsible for defining and implementing quality policy and for coordinating all standardization and quality activities at the national level. INNOQ will accept foreign laboratory tests if they comply with Mozambican standards.
Publication of Technical Regulations
The Boletim da República is the national gazette for the publication and dissemination of laws, provisions, and other acts of publication. Draft bills are usually made available for public comments through the business associations, relevant sectors, or in public meetings. Changes to laws and regulations are published in the national gazette. Public comments are usually limited to input from a few private sector organizations, such as the Confederação das Associações Económicas de Moçambique (CTA), a non-governmental, non-partisan economic organization whose mission is to contribute to the economic and social development of Mozambique. There have been complaints about short comment periods and that comments are not properly reflected in the national gazette. The government is considering a law that would make public consultation on future legislation mandatory.
Contact Information
Mozambique is covered by the Standards Attaché in South Africa:
Mike Bromley
Commercial Officer | Standards Attaché
U.S. Commercial Service - U.S. Consulate Johannesburg, South Africa
Office: +27 11 290 3227
Use ePing to review proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.
The ePing SPS&TBT platform (https://epingalert.org/), or “ePing”, provides access to notifications made by World Trade Organization (WTO) Members under the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), distributed by the WTO from January 16, 1995 to present. ePing is available to all stakeholders free of charge and does not require registration unless the user wishes to receive customized e-mail alerts. Use it to browse notifications on past as well as new draft and updated product regulations, food safety and animal and plant health standards and regulations, find information on trade concerns discussed in the WTO SPS and TBT Committees, locate information on SPS/TBT Enquiry Points and notification authorities, and to follow and review current and past notifications concerning regulatory actions on products, packaging, labeling, food safety and animal and plant health measures in markets of interest.
Notify U.S., operated and maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) since 2003 to distribute and provide access to notifications (and associated draft texts) made under the WTO TBT Agreement for US stakeholders, has reached its end of life. Per obligation under the TBT Agreement, each WTO Member operates a national TBT (and an SPS) Enquiry Point. National TBT Enquiry Points are authorized to accept comments and official communications from other national TBT Enquiry Points, which are NOT part of the WTO or the WTO Secretariat. All comment submissions from U.S. stakeholders, including businesses, trade associations, U.S domiciled standards development organizations and conformity assessment bodies, consumers, or U.S. Government agencies on notifications to the WTO TBT Committee should be sent directly to the USA WTO TBT Inquiry Point. Refer to the comment guidance at https://tsapps.nist.gov/notifyus/data/guidance/guidance.cfm for further information. This guidance is provided to assist U.S. stakeholders in the preparation and submission of comments in response to notifications of proposed foreign technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.