Goods are exported from Myanmar when they leave Myanmar’s customs territory. Different rules apply to exports depending on whether they are commercial or non-commercial in nature. The logistics, laws and regulations governing exports are complex and most exporters use professional experts, known as freight forwarders and customs brokers, to assist them in planning and carrying out export transactions.

Exports from Myanmar are controlled by the Customs Department of the Ministry of Planning and Finance (“Customs”). Customs is responsible for assessing and collecting applicable taxes on exports and carrying out other regulatory and law enforcement responsibilities relating to exports.

Index

Registration of a Business
Prohibited Exports
Export Licenses
Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Requirements 
Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Requirements
Customs Declaration and Required Accompanying Documents
Export Taxes
Payment of Customs Duties and Taxes
Customs Inspection of Exports
Special Econonomic Zones (SEZs)
Spotlight on the Garment Industry

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Registration of a Business

In order to export goods from Myanmar, a business must first register as a company authorized to engage in international trade. For details about registering a business, click here.

1. An export must register as a company authorized to engage in international trade and then register as an exporter with the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA), Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations. Registrations can be up to five years. DICA has a One Stop Service (OSS) to facilitate registration.

2. An exporter must also register with the Department of Trade,  Ministry of Commerce for obtaining Exporter/Importer Registration Certificates. The validity period of the Exporter/Importer Registration Certificate can be for up to five years. The registration fee is MMK200,000 and online service fee is MMK 3000. See Procedures for Obtaining Exporter/Importer Registration Certificate here.

3. The exporter must also join the Union of  Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI).  Top.

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Prohibited Exports

Export Licenses

The Government of Myanmar has liberalized requirements for obtaining an export license. However, some tariff lines still require an export license. The tariff lines that are subject to export licenses are provided at the following links;

• https://myanmartradeportal.gov.mm/en/legal/304

• https://myanmartradeportal.gov.mm/en/legal/339

Export licenses are issued by the Department of Trade of the Ministry of Commerce, based on the recommendation of relevant ministries and agencies, and of business associations. See the following Table:                                                                   

                                                                Export license recommendations

Concerned Ministries	List of commodities
Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (Department of Agriculture)	Seeds, plants and plant products, pesticides, fertilizers
Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department (MOALI)	Animals, animal feed, veterinary medicines and farm equipment, surgical and laboratory equipment
Department of Fisheries (MOALI)	shrimp lets, and vitamins for shrimps, feed for fish, live fish, animal products,
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MONREC)	Sawn timber and forest products, chemicals that can destroy the ozone layer, Mineral products, sodium cyanide
Ministry of Health, Department of Food and Drug Administration	Toothpaste, mercury, raw materials, medicines, medical appliances (disposable syringes, infusion sets, blood transfusion sets, surgical gloves, testing kits), foodstuffs, palm oil (palm olein, cloud point 8°C max., iodine value 58 min. specification)
Ministry of Home Affairs, Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control	Chemical precursors used for producing narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances
Ministry of Energy	Liquefied petroleum gas
Ministry of Information	Foreign movies
Ministry of Transport and Communications	Telecommunication equipment
Ministry of Transport and Communications	Vehicles (vessels/aircraft)
Ministry of Industry	Chemicals and related substances
Ministry of Science and Technology	Radioactive materials

No license fee is charged for exports. The Ministry of Commerce requires that all export transactions use the FOB Incoterm. Other Incoterms are not currently authorized.

Applications for export licenses have been automated. The traders can apply for the import/export license at the Ministry of Commerce via the TradeNet2.0 online system.The detail procedures to apply export license/ permit via TradeNet 2.0 online system can see here. See https://www.myanmartradenet.com/. The Department of Trade also operates a Border Trade Online System (BTOS) for processing export licenses at border posts.

License requirements are reviewed on an annual basis and there may also be occasional additional changes during each year.

Required certificates, permits or export recommendations, etc.

1. Depending upon the nature of the export, certificates, permits or export recommendations may be required from regulatory authorities or association members of the UMFCCI, consistent with the importing country’s requirements.

2. A country of origin (COO) certificate may be required from the Ministry of Commerce to document the origin of goods for the purposes of enjoying preferential tariff treatment. In addition to ASEAN members, free trade agreements exist with Korea, Japan, India, China, Hongkong and Australia-New Zealand. Exports may also be eligible for Generalized System of Preference (GSP) duty free treatment. The application process for a COO certificate can be undertaken manually or digitally. There are 11 certificates for ASEAN free trade Agreements and various GSP programs. For copies of the certificates and the application process, click here.

3. Non-preferential COOs are also issued by the relevant ministries, UMFCCI and its constituent members.

Validity of export license and amendments

License validity is three months after issuance. After three months, the exporter can apply for an extension of the license for two months. On further application, a second extension for one month is also provided for. After six months the applicant must apply for a new license. The service fees for extension of the validity of the export license is provided here.

Amendments to export licenses are also available before shipment. The service fees for the amendment of the export license is provided here

Automation of import-export processes by Myanmar Customs

Myanmar Customs is currently developing an automated cargo clearance system (MACCS) designed to automate a number of areas of customs operations. These include user registration, clearance of goods, cargo management, payment, information technology, and the helpdesk. MACCS will connect with shipping and airlines, the Port Authority, warehouse operators, brokers and importer/exporters and also with other government agencies. It will initially be installed in Yangon and later in other customs offices throughout Myanmar. Eventually MACCS will provide the basis for a National Single Window (NSW) where submission for licenses to other government agencies and approvals or rejections may be made using MACCS. MACCS significantly reduces the time for customs processing of imports and exports and also improve the collection of revenue and enforcement of import restrictions. Top.

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Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Requirements 

If the goods you intend to export are subject to sanitary and phytosanitary measures you will have to comply with the special regulations relating to those products. You can find out on this website which commodities are subject to these requirements by using the search facilities on the Commodity Search page.

Department of Agriculture, Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department, Department of Fishery and Food and Drug Administration Department are responsible for sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures in Myanmar. SPS standards adopted by Myanmar follow those of CODEX, ASEAN, and the OIE. A detailed description of the procedures and documentation required can be found on the Procedures page of this website. Top.

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Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Requirements

For certain types of products, it may be necessary to obtain a permit that certifies that these products conform to certain technical standards.

The technical regulations are administered by the  Department Of Research and Innovation (DRI). Note that exporting countries have specific technical requirements specific to exported products and those exporters should check with relevant competent authorities in export destinations about those requirements before exporting. Myanmar has established a TBT Enquiry Point as required by the WTO TBT Agreement.  You can contact the  TBT Enquiry Point if you have any questions regarding technical standards.  Top.

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Customs Declaration and Required Accompanying Documents

Exports must be accompanied by a customs declaration, together with required documents. Detailed information on customs declarations are as follows;

1. All exports must be cleared through Customs using the CUSDEC-2 Export Declaration Form along with the CUSDEC-4 Customs Valuation Form.

2. Required accompanying documents include: (a) Export License/Export Permit (if the export items are not subject to export license, Exporter/Importer Registration Certificate ၊ Company Registration၊ Form VI (company shares) and Form XXVI (list of company directors) (b) The invoice (c) Packing (d) Sales contract (e) Shipping Instruction (f) Booking Note and (g) Other required accompanying documents ( they can vary depending on the export items - for example, a country of origin /SPS or FDA certificate/ Pass for the shipment of forestry products/ Health certificate for the export of live animals/Permit for the export of wild live animals/ Other certificates)

3. Generally, the customs declaration and supporting documents must be submitted to Customs prior to the export of the goods.

4. H.S codes are harmonized at 6^th digit level for all WCO member countries and 8^th digit level in all ASEAN member countries. The Myanmar Customs Tariff 2017 has ten digits which comprise the addition of two digits for statistical purpose to the AHTN 8^th digits. Myanmar’s Tariff Classification and Tariff rates are accessible here . Tariff rates and Non-Tariff Measures for each tariff line can be explored at the Commodity Search   of this website. Traders can contact with the help desk of the Customs Department for further enquires.   Top.

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Export Taxes

Once a declaration has been submitted and accepted by Customs, the payment of duties on specific export products shall be required. On behalf of the Internal Revenue Department, Customs Department collects a 2% advance income tax on exports of specific goods.

Ministry of Planning and Finance (MOPF), in exercise of the power conferred by Section 16(b) of the Income Tax Law, sets out the rates and methods to collect the advanced taxes on exported/imported goods during a relevant incomeyear. For the exports, the advanced taxes must be collected in Myanmar Kyat during the relevant income year at 2% of the value of the exported goods if the export is charged in Myanmar currency; and 2% of the value of the exported goods as calculated by using the exchange rate set out by the Central Bank of Myanmar for the date of export if the export is charged in a foreign currency.

Incentives are provided to exporters under the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Law, 2014.

Detail about Specific Goods Tax, Income Tax, commercial tax can be explored here.

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Customs Inspection of Exports

Export inspections are conducted by Customs. These are designed to avoid disputes between exporters and importers concerning the quality and quantity of the goods and to control the exportation of prohibited products. Private inspection companies also may conduct pre-shipment inspections (PSIs) of certain commodities, such as rice. Top.

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Special Economic Zones (SEZs)

Special economic zones, sometimes called free zones or export processing zones, are areas that are geographically within a nation but are outside a nation’s customs territory for the purpose of the collection of customs duties and other indirect taxes (such as excise and sales taxes). Businesses located in SEZs frequently conduct export processing operations, taking advantage of duty and indirect tax exemptions. SEZs have been used by China, Vietnam and other countries to encourage FDI and to experiment with new economic policies.

Myanmar’s SEZ legislation was revised in 2014. Under this law, investors who carry out business in a SEZ are eligible for a variety of tax exemptions and reductions. For details, click here to review the SEZ law. There are currently three SEZs in development: Kyauk Phyu in Rakhine State, Dawei in the Thanintharyi Region and the Thilawa in Yangon Region. Top.

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Spotlight on the Garment Industry

Currently almost all garment production in Myanmar is done under the Cut, Make and Package(CMP) process.

A foreign agent provides the fabric and other materials to produce garments according to contract specifications. An import license to import the fabric and other materials is obtained from the Ministry of Commerce, based upon recommendation letters from the Ministry of Industry and the UMFCCI. No export license for the finished garments is required. Imported materials and exported finished garments are duty and tax free. The Ministry of Industry monitors the production of factories through daily statistical reports and also issues non-preferential certificates of origin. This has helped the garment industry to develop into a leading sector of the economy in Myanmar, employing more than 450,000 workers. About half the factories are foreign-owned. All garment production is exported to customers located in many countries around the world. Export sales exceed USD$3.6 billion in 2020-2021 FY, peaking at USD 5.1 Billion in 2018. Special, simplified procedures have been developed to expedite the production and export of clothing articles. The Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association is also established for providing valuable technical training services and supporting their members in finding business opportunities. Top.