CUSTOMS

The Law on the Movement of Goods, which entered into force in October 2003, declares that goods may be brought into Suriname free of (non- tariff) restrictions, except those restrictions that protect public order, public morality, state security, the health and life of persons, international law and order, industrial and commercial property. The law also provides for the application of safeguard measures when increasing imports hinders or threatens to seriously disadvantage domestic producers of similar or competitive goods.

Import Requirements

A company that wants to import goods to Suriname needs to obtain a license from the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Some imported goods may require an additional health certificate.

These include but are not limited to Medicines for people and medicines for animals and plants.

Licensing certificates are provided by the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fishering, depending on the area of responsibility.

A phytosanitary Certificate is needed when importing plants and seeds for sowing, this document needs to be issued by an authorized organization from within the country of origin.

Import permits

Anyone who exports goods to Suriname must take the Negative List into account. This shows goods that you are not allowed to import into Suriname and goods for which you need an import permit.

The Negative List consists of three categories:

Prohibited goods such as pesticides, chemical waste and passenger cars older than 8 years.
Goods that require a permit, such as fireworks, medicines and second-hand car tires
Regulated goods (for which certification or registration is required) such as micro-organisms.

The required documents that an importer needs are:

IT form: International trade transaction form for registration of goods and services
The single administrative Document: a declaration form for the import of goods from free circulation. This is an standard application form which is also referred to as the Enig document.
Airway Bill / Bill of Cargo: Shipping document issued by the Airline or the Shipping Company
Invoice and possibly Certificate of Origin, if the goods originate from the CARICOM
H-03 license: In the case of goods from the so-called Negative List (Articles 2 and 3 of the Negative List Decree), an H-03 license from the IUD Service will be required after it has been approved by the relevant Ministry. If advice is needed from the relevant ministry, the importer must first turn to that ministry before submitting the documents to the IUD.

For goods subject to specific conditions, a certificate from the relevant authority (BOG Foods, the Pharmaceutical Inspection and the Medicines Medicines Registration Agency) will suffice.

All other goods can be imported freely. But the importer must comply with the rules on input.

IMPORT TARIFF

Suriname’s tariff schedule consists of nine tiers between 0 and 50 percent. Tariffs on imports from CARICOM member states range between 0 and 20 percent. Tariffs on imports from the United States range between 0 and 50 percent. Products subject to the highest tariffs include alcoholic beverages, tobacco and cigarettes, coffee, eggs, vegetables, precious or semi – precious stones and some motor vehicles.

Transit

In the case of transit, the documents submitted must be accompanied by:

A letter with the request to be allowed to transit the relevant goods.
G imports indicating the amount of 15% of the cif value for goods from other countries and 5% for goods from Brazil.
Invoice of the relevant goods.
BL or AWB of the relevant goods.

The import and export of values is a combination between the Foreign Exchange Committee and the IUD Department. Permission is granted by the Foreign Exchange Committee pursuant to the Foreign Exchange Regulations (G.B. 1947 no.136), after which the license is handled by the IUD Department.

Contact

Import, Export and Currency control Department/ Ministry of Trade and Industry

Telephone: 9597)402-957

Export documents needed

The necessary formalities must be observed to export. The required documents that an exporter needs are:

IT form: International trade transaction form for registration of goods and services
The single administrative document: a declaration form for the export of goods from free circulation. This is an standard application form which is also referred to as the Enig document
Airway Bill / Bill of Cargo: Shipping document issued by the airline or shipping company.
Invoice and possibly Certificate of Origin, if the goods go to CARICOM

Depending on the product, it may also be necessary to contact a specific agency. For example: for timber and timber products, this must first be reported to the Forest Management and Forest Inspection Foundation. However, the IUD Service still remains the authority that issues the permit.

H-03 license: in the case of goods from the so-called Negative List (Articles 2 and 3 of the Negative List Decree), an H-03 license from the IUD Service will be required, after a favorable recommendation by the relevant ministry has been released with regard to the export. The H-03 permit must be submitted in triplicate as follows:
copy intended for the IUD Service
copy for the Applicant
copy for Customs

Customs Regulations

The Customs Office in Suriname is the main department of the Tax Authorities. Customs is responsible for checking compliance with the regulations governing the movement of goods (import, export and transit) and supervising the appropriate levy of the resulting state revenues.

Contact information

Customs Office

Phone: (597) 402-778

Fax: 9597)403-164

Email: asycusur@sr.net

Standards

Suriname is a member of the CARICOM Regional Organization for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) and a member of Pan American Standards Commission (COPANT). The country is also a member of ISO and affiliate Member of IEC.

Labeling and Marking Requirements

The local Standards bureau of Suriname precribes labeling requirements for prepackaged food and other commodities:
Products must be clearly labeled, with the content, weight, brand and

Production date, as well as the expiration date of the product clearly visible. This may be done in English. For brewery products this must be done in Dutch and English.

Contact Information

Suriname Standards Bureau

Address: Leysweg 10, Paramaribo

Phone: (597) 499-928/ 499-929

Fax: (597)499-926

Email: dirssb@gmail.com www.ssb.sr

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