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Imports
The Trade Unit is involved in regulating the following:
- Import of products of animal origin, animal feed and trophies (Email: meatimport@govmu.org);
- Import of live animals including pets at airport and seaport(Email: petimport@govmu.org);
- Inspection of isolation facilities and quarantine stations;
- Inspection and sampling of products of animal origin;
- Inspection of live animal (including pets) during import;
- Online clearance of live animals, animal trophies and animal feed; and
- Manual clearance of products of animal origin for human consumption (through the issue of a Veterinary Entry Document)
What is required for Import?
All live animals, products of animal origin for human and non-human consumption imported in to Mauritius should be accompanied by an Import Permit delivered by the Division of Veterinary Services as stipulated in the Animal Disease Act 1925 and regulations made there under.
An import permit is required for the import from any country of the following:
- Live animals (including pets);
- Products of animal origin for human consumption (meat and meat products, honey);
- Products of animal origin for non-human consumption (animal feed, bone meal, hides, animal trophies, manure or other fertilizer of animal origin)
- Animal feed.
Purpose of Import Permit
The Import Permit is designed to protect the country against sanitary threat in line with the WTO SPS Agreement. The Import Permit lays down all the animal health and veterinary public health conditions which need to be complied with and certified by Official Veterinary Authority of the exporting country in accordance to the Animal Disease Act 1925 and regulations made there under.
How to apply for an Import Permits (steps)
1. For first time application
The importer is kindly advised to first administratively register with the Division of Veterinary Services, which can be contacted on meatimport@govmu.org for further information.
PS: For pets, no registration is required, please check next section for guideline and application forms to bring cats and dogs to Mauritius
2. After registration
After completion of registration and prior to import, the importer can apply online for a permit. Same should be done on the Trade Net Portal (MNS).
The contact details for the MNS Customer Service Department for training and registration are:
Phone number 401-6805 and email address is customer.service@mns.mu.
Import of Veterinary Medical Products
Importation of Veterinary Medicinal Products
An authorization is required for the importation and clearance of Veterinary Medicinal Products (VMPs) and feed additives.
Guidelines for inspections
Please note:
- An application for an import permit is considered only if all required information has been submitted by the importer at the time of application.
- Imports permits may be refused in case of sanitary threats to the country.
- In case of import of animal feed containing plant materials, a recommendation is also required by the National Plant Protection Office and for animal feed containing fish materials, a recommendation is required by the Ministry of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping. This process is done automatically when the importer applies for a permit online on the Trade Net.
- Normal time frame for permit delivery is two working days. In case of emergency, an import permit may be granted in one working day.
- Consignments arriving at the port without an import permit and International Veterinary Certificate are not cleared by the DVS.
- Imports are allowed immediately upon the issue of permits provided all conditions stipulated in the import permit issued by the DVS are satisfied.
Aplication may take longer to process if:
- they require technical assessment
- incomplete or incorrect information is provided by the applicant
- additional information is required to continue the assessment (applicants will be notified of this by the assessing officers)
- it is a novel product or is being imported from a new country
Application for clearance
The requirements during application for a clearance at arrival of consignments are as follows:
For live animals
Clearance for live animals (except pets) should be made online on TradeNet. At the time of online clearance, the documents below are required to be attached:
(i) duly filled in Veterinary Entry Document (VED)
(ii) a copy of all required test reports;
(iii) International Veterinary Certificate duly signed by the official veterinarian of the exporting country;
(iv) bill of lading/airway bill; and
(v) packing list.
All live animals are subject to quarantine at arrival.
For Products of Animal Origin
Clearance for products of animal origin is performed manually. The documents below are required to be attached:
(i) duly filled in Veterinary Entry Document (VED) in 2 copies;
(ii) a copy of test reports where applicable;
(iii) International Veterinary Certificate duly signed by official veterinarian of the exporting country;
(iv) bill of lading/airway bill; and
(v) packing list.
Please note
Consignments arriving at the port without an import permit or/and International Veterinary Certificate are not cleared by the DVS and are either recommended for destruction or reshipment at the importer’s cost.
Fees applicable at import
At arrival of each consignment, a Veterinary clearance fee (live animals and pets): Rs 500 per consignment is mandatory.
The following fees are also applicable: