After arriving in Ethiopia, we ran into an interesting but disappointing setback at the Ethiopian Customs Office at Bole Addis Ababa International Airport.
A Customs Mess In Addis Ababa Airport
Ethiopia is still a developing nation and while the country has enviably advanced in many ways, including with its flag carrier Ethiopian Airlines (100% government-owned and the most profitable carrier in Africa), its customs policies strike me as very third-world.
Customs in Ethiopia are managed by the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA), which oversees the movement of goods and collects duties. In theory, you must declare all electronic items, including computers, tablets, and cell phones.
Here, we were trying to bring in a professional video camera, tripod, and projector for a church we were visiting as part of the trip.
We had the necessary paperwork…the original commercial invoice, packing list, and certificate of origin. We also had a letter from our organization stating the products would be used for non-profit church work and also an accompanying translation in Amharic. We also had our local contact on speed dial, ready to assist with any translation issues.
But ERCA wanted to collect a customs duty and excise tax on the goods that exceeded their value!
As we stood in the customs area, we noticed customs officers opening suitcases and a lot of arguing going on. Some cases appeared more blatant than others: one person had about a dozen sealed iPhone boxes under their clothes. Another had about 60 Nike shirts, each individually wrapped. Yeah, those are probably not for personal consumption…
But then there were other cases, like a guy who had a portable ultrasound machine.
They were giving him a hard time about it…I mean, whatever the context, isn’t a good thing to be bringing this sort of medical equipment into a country in which a majority of people in Ethiopia are uninsured when it comes to health insurance?
I’d say this whole incident is another reason why I hate tariffs…whether they be imposed by the United States or any other nation.
It is what it is…we don’t bribe and we don’t fudge invoices, but it seems highly punitive to pocket thousands of USD so that a church can have equipment to livestream its services and conferences…
We left the product in customs and let our local partner deal with. Yes, I get that sometimes the cost of doing business means paying these big duties…but it seems like criminal robbery and helps to explain (without attacking Trump) why I am an advocate for free trade.
This is part of my Ethiopia trip report.
@ Matthew — Sadly, you should have provided a “tip”.