Consumer protection in Mozambique

The main legal framework is Lei n.º 22/2009, supported by sector-specific rules and enforcement procedures. It applies to natural and legal persons dealing with private or public suppliers, producers, importers, traders, service providers, municipal or public companies and concessionaires. Suppliers should provide information in Portuguese, display prices in the national currency and explain relevant risks and conditions of use. Advertising must not mislead or abuse consumers, and the sponsor must be able to support advertising claims. Consumers can expect quality, safety, understandable contract information, protection of their economic interests, compensation for damage and access to legal remedies. A contract should be understandable before acceptance. General terms cannot remove liability, make consumers waive legal rights, reverse the burden of proof, impose compulsory arbitration or allow unilateral price changes without a valid basis. Written guarantees should state their duration, place of use and conditions, while replacement parts should remain available for at least one year after production or import ends. Credit-sale information should include the price, late-payment interest, effective annual interest rate, charges, instalment schedule and total amount; a late-payment penalty may not exceed 2% of the instalment value, and early repayment should reduce interest and related costs proportionally. For non-food movable goods, the statutory guarantee lasts at least one year; immovable property has a five-year guarantee. A supplier should remedy a defect within a maximum of 30 days unless the parties agree a period between 7 and 180 days. If the defect is not remedied, replacement, a refund or a price reduction may follow. A blanket “no returns” policy does not remove legally available remedies. Consumers should keep receipts, contracts, advertisements, payment records, serial numbers, lot numbers and previous replies. The first complaint normally goes to the supplier through its customer channel or Livro de reclamações, the official complaints book. If the matter remains unresolved, INAE can handle national inspection and consumer complaints involving areas such as food, prices, quality, trade, tourism and transport. INAE sanctions may include fines, seizure, making goods unusable, suspension of supply or activity, licence withdrawal, closure or corrective advertising. There is no single cross-sector ombudsman system identified for Mozambique, so the next authority depends on the sector. Banco de Moçambique handles complaints about supervised banks, financial companies and other supervised financial institutions after the consumer first complains to the institution. The complaint can be submitted orally or in writing to the institution and then to Banco de Moçambique through its office, branch, email reclamacoes@bancomoc.mz or an online or paper form. The file should include identification, the complaint form, the institution’s response and supporting evidence. Banco de Moçambique may reject matters outside its supervision, matters already before a court or alternative dispute process, false or abusive submissions and time-barred cases. For telecommunications and postal services, INCM provides the consumer portal consumidor.incm.gov.mz, Linha do Cliente 1789, email and WhatsApp channels. A consumer should first contact the communications provider and then INCM. The framework covers transparent tariffs and contracts, clear bills, service quality, privacy, accessible complaint channels and compensation where special rules provide for it. Current sector rules include Decreto n.º 73/2025, which replaced Decreto n.º 44/2019, and Decreto n.º 74/2025 for communications disputes. Mobile-wallet complaints may fall under INCM or Banco de Moçambique depending on the subject. In 2025, telecommunications complaints mainly concerned quality, incorrect or unauthorized charges and unwanted activation; postal complaints were also handled through INCM. For electricity, the supplier or concessionaire receives the first complaint. It should investigate and communicate a result within 30 days, correct the bill or service where appropriate and address compensation claims. If the response is unsatisfactory, the consumer can complain to ARENE in writing or in person with the facts, evidence and a copy of the first complaint. Electricity contracts should identify the supply point, term, meter, capacity or voltage, tariff, billing method and penalties. A termination for systematic non-payment or breach requires written reasons and normally takes effect after 15 days for a large customer or 5 days for other customers. Suspected energy theft can lead to disconnection or termination, but liability still requires proper examination. Air-passenger complaints fall under IACM. A passenger affected by cancellation, interruption, schedule advancement, overbooking or baggage problems may have rights to a ticket refund and, depending on the event, reasonable transport, food, accommodation and communication costs. For an earlier flight, the passenger may choose a refund or the next available flight at the airline’s cost. In an overbooking case, the passenger may choose the next flight serving the same journey with the same or another airline at the responsible provider’s cost. Airports, airlines, handling companies, tourism businesses and travel agencies should make a Livro de reclamações available. IACM can be contacted through Linha verde 825025800. ANARME regulates medicines and other health products through approval, licensing, quality control and adverse-reaction monitoring. Medicines should be obtained from an authorized pharmacy or health facility. Social-media, influencer and informal offers, especially products described as “natural” or “safe,” create a high health and fraud risk. A quality report should identify the product, manufacturer, batch and expiry date and can be sent to anarme.ip@anarme.gov.mz or 823035409. The reviewed ANARME rules did not establish a general refund period or general complaint-cost rule. Electronic-payment and telecommunications fraud require a separate response from an ordinary service complaint. Do not disclose a card PIN, CVV or one-time password. Notify the issuer and relevant authorities immediately about loss or unauthorized use, check the account, point-of-sale and ATM activity, and preserve messages and transaction records. Electronic fraud involving telecommunications or electronic payment instruments can be reported to the Procuradoria-Geral da República through fraude-denuncias.pgr.gov.mz or fraude.denuncias@pgr.gov.mz. A regulatory complaint, a consumer remedy and a criminal report are separate processes, and no automatic chargeback is guaranteed. Consumers should also watch for smishing, SIM-registration fraud, SIM-box schemes, social engineering and voice phishing.