Does Afrikoni charge me import duty or VAT?

No. Marketplace-facilitator tax regimes that force a platform to collect and remit target B2C sales. Cross-border B2B leaves the obligation with the seller and the importer of record. Afrikoni estimates the landed cost so you can budget for it; duty and import VAT are paid by the importer at the border.

Is there an exemption certificate to file with Afrikoni?

No — not in the Alibaba or Amazon sense, because Afrikoni is not charging you the tax there would be an exemption from. What the program provides is the HS classification, the applicable rule of origin and the document pack that make a lower rate claimable at the border.

Does AfCFTA membership make my shipment duty free?

No, and this is the expensive misunderstanding. Membership does not confer preference. The goods must satisfy the product-specific rule of origin and travel with a certificate of origin issued per consignment, and the destination must have liberalised that tariff line in its own schedule. The preferential rate is a conditional offer, never duty free.

Why does a quote sometimes show duty as unknown?

Because the tariff data covers African schedules and not every other one. Duty into the EU, UK and US lives in TARIC, the UK Global Tariff and the HTSUS. Rather than reach for an African rate and invent a number, the quote reports the duty line as unknown and labels the total as excluding it.

How much does the preferential rate actually save?

Across the 100 HS codes carrying both an applied MFN rate and an AfCFTA preferential rate, the preferential rate averages 7.9% against 16.4% — a little over half. The saving is per tariff line and per destination, so model it against your own code rather than the average.

Is AGOA still usable?

Yes. AGOA is authorised to 31 December 2026, retroactive to the September 2025 lapse, and on 8 August 2026 the US Senate voted 90-6 to extend AGOA through 31 December 2028, folded into a stopgap funding measure; the House has not yet passed it and it is not signed. Any sourcing plan depending on AGOA duty treatment past that date carries an assumption rather than a rate, so price long contracts against both outcomes.

Afrikoni Trade Compliance Program

The seller and the importer of record, paid at the border. Afrikoni estimates the landed cost so it can be budgeted, and does not collect duty or import VAT on a non-DDP order. That is not a gap in the product; it is what the law says for B2B.

Step one: classify the goods

Everything hangs off the HS code — the applied rate, the rule of origin and whether a certificate is required. The Afrikoni tariff data covers 221 HS codes with rules of origin, and 360 of 376 listed products carry a classification.

Step two: meet the rule of origin

Wholly obtained, change of tariff heading, a value-added threshold or a specific process. Raw cocoa, unroasted coffee and raw shea nuts are wholly obtained and take the easy path; manufactured goods rarely do. Membership of AfCFTA confers nothing on its own.

Step three: check the destination schedule

The test most claims fail. The importing country must have liberalised that tariff line in its own schedule. A valid certificate of origin against an excluded line is entirely valid and saves nothing.

Step four: get the certificate before the goods move

Issued by the designated authority in the exporting country, per consignment, tied to one invoice and one tariff line, at or before shipment. It cannot be retro-fitted after the goods clear, and it is not a standing status a company holds.

What the tariff data covers, and what it does not

Across the 100 HS codes carrying both rates, the AfCFTA preferential rate averages 7.9% against a 16.4% applied MFN rate. Duty into the EU, the UK and the US lives in TARIC, the UK Global Tariff and the HTSUS, which Afrikoni has not ingested — on those destinations the duty line is reported as unknown rather than guessed.

Frequently asked questions

Does Afrikoni charge me import duty or VAT?: No. Marketplace-facilitator tax regimes that force a platform to collect and remit target B2C sales. Cross-border B2B leaves the obligation with the seller and the importer of record. Afrikoni estimates the landed cost so you can budget for it; duty and import VAT are paid by the importer at the border.
Is there an exemption certificate to file with Afrikoni?: No — not in the Alibaba or Amazon sense, because Afrikoni is not charging you the tax there would be an exemption from. What the program provides is the HS classification, the applicable rule of origin and the document pack that make a lower rate claimable at the border.
Does AfCFTA membership make my shipment duty free?: No, and this is the expensive misunderstanding. Membership does not confer preference. The goods must satisfy the product-specific rule of origin and travel with a certificate of origin issued per consignment, and the destination must have liberalised that tariff line in its own schedule. The preferential rate is a conditional offer, never duty free.
Why does a quote sometimes show duty as unknown?: Because the tariff data covers African schedules and not every other one. Duty into the EU, UK and US lives in TARIC, the UK Global Tariff and the HTSUS. Rather than reach for an African rate and invent a number, the quote reports the duty line as unknown and labels the total as excluding it.
How much does the preferential rate actually save?: Across the 100 HS codes carrying both an applied MFN rate and an AfCFTA preferential rate, the preferential rate averages 7.9% against 16.4% — a little over half. The saving is per tariff line and per destination, so model it against your own code rather than the average.
Is AGOA still usable?: Yes. AGOA is authorised to 31 December 2026, retroactive to the September 2025 lapse, and on 8 August 2026 the US Senate voted 90-6 to extend AGOA through 31 December 2028, folded into a stopgap funding measure; the House has not yet passed it and it is not signed. Any sourcing plan depending on AGOA duty treatment past that date carries an assumption rather than a rate, so price long contracts against both outcomes.