Producers and importers of alcoholic beverages warn of rising beer prices in Mozambique because of the introduction of control seal, which had been postponed in 2017. A new ministerial decree indicates that the label is to be applied to all alcoholic beverages and manufactured tobacco.

Back in 2017, when the control seal for alcoholic beverages and manufactured tobacco was introduced, sealing beer was frowned upon by producers and importers. For that reason, it was postponed at the time. But now, the government has decided to ignore the complaints and move forward.

According to "O País", the diploma 64/2021 of July 21st indicates that the sealing is applied to all alcoholic beverages and manufactured tobacco, imported or nationally produced, subject to the Excise Tax.

According to the diploma, the introduction of this seal for beers that, until this moment, do not have it, should be scheduled by the Tax Authority. And, when it comes into force, the producers and importers of alcoholic beverages will have to buy the seal from the Directorate-General of Customs. And that is where the problem lies. It is one more production cost and it is the final consumer who will suffer.

This measure has always been aimed at minimizing smuggling of alcoholic beverages and manufactured tobacco. However, APIBA says that the beer sector, with the sealing, will lose much more than the state loses in smuggling of this subsector.

Incidentally, producers and importers of alcoholic beverages say that while it is theoretically timely to seal the spirits and wine subsectors, at the moment they are being ineffective due to parallel selling of seals on the black market.