Exporting from Suriname

With KKF registration, a FIN tax number and a customs broker you can export, and most goods need no licence. Exports are taxed at 0% VAT. Watch two things: food, fish, plants, timber and gold have their own inspections and certificates, and since 17 August 2026 you must bring export proceeds into Suriname and sell at least 35% to a local bank within three working days.

VAT on exports

VAT Act 2022, art. 4(2)

Mandatory sale

35%

of export proceeds, within 3 working days

EU access

import duty under the EPA, with proof of origin

In short

Anyone registered with the KKF may export. An H-03 licence from the IUD (Ministry of Economic Affairs, EZOTI) is only needed for goods on the Negative List.
The export declaration goes through a customs broker in ASYCUDA World, with your FIN number since 1 January 2025.
Exports of goods are taxed at 0% VAT. Keep the export declaration and transport documents as proof.
Plants: phytosanitary certificate from Agriculture (LVV). Animal products: veterinary certificate. Fish: only through companies approved by the Fish Inspection Institute (VKI). Timber: inspection by the forestry authority SBB and export duty.
Foreign exchange: General Decision no. 228 of the Foreign Exchange Commission requires you to repatriate proceeds and sell at least 35%. Gold exporters sell to the Central Bank.
With a certificate of origin you can often sell into CARICOM and the EU with no or lower import duty.

Who may export?

Since trade was liberalised on 1 September 1999, anyone registered with the KKF may import and export (Goods Traffic Act, Negative List Decree 2003). You need the same basics as an importer:

Registration in the KKF trade register and a recent extract (uittreksel). Start a business
A FIN tax number from the tax office; mandatory for commercial exporters in ASYCUDA since 1 January 2025.
Registration with Customs in ASYCUDA World, through your broker or the tax portal.
A business account at a Surinamese foreign exchange bank. Opening a business bank account
For some sectors a separate registration or approval: an export code from the Directorate of Agriculture (fresh produce), VKI approval (fish), an approved establishment (meat and animal products).

Goods on the Negative List need an H-03 export licence from the Import, Export and Foreign Exchange Control Service (IUD) of EZOTI. You file it in triplicate, after a positive opinion from the relevant ministry. If in doubt, ask the IUD before you sign a sales contract.

Step by step: exporting a shipment

Check the destination country's requirements. What duty will your customer pay, which certificates and labels does that country require? For the EU, see the European Commission's Access2Markets; for CARICOM, the customs service of the destination country.
Check whether your product needs a licence or certificate. Negative List (H-03 at the IUD), phytosanitary (LVV), veterinary (Directorate of Livestock), fish (VKI), food (Public Health Bureau, BOG), timber (SBB), gold.
Prepare the commercial documents. Export invoice, packing list and, where needed, the certificate of origin. Invoice generator · Proforma invoice
Book the freight. Sea freight through the port of Paramaribo, air cargo through the international airport. You receive a Bill of Lading or Air Waybill.
Get inspected and certified. Request the export inspection in time; certificates are only issued after the inspection fees are paid.
Export declaration. Your broker files in ASYCUDA with the Single Document (ED), the IT form, invoice, B/L or AWB, KKF extract and the certificates. ASYCUDA assigns a colour (red, yellow, blue or green).
Shipment and payment. Have your customer pay into your account at a Surinamese bank, or repatriate the proceeds there.
Sell at least 35% of the proceeds. Within three working days of the transfer, to a foreign exchange bank in Suriname.
Records. Keep the declaration, transport document, invoice and bank statement together. You need them for the 0% VAT rate and for the Foreign Exchange Commission. Bookkeeping and invoices

0% VAT on exports and how to support it

The VAT Act 2022 (article 4(2)) lists four kinds of export at the 0% rate:

the supply of goods that are exported in connection with the supply;
international goods transport by aircraft or sea vessel;
services in Suriname related to outgoing goods (for example loading, storage or inspection of an export shipment);
outsourcing work done in Suriname for a customer who does not live or is not established in Suriname.

0% is not the same as exempt: you remain a VAT-registered business and can deduct the VAT on your purchases (input tax). Exporters therefore often get VAT back.

The law does not set a fixed list of proof, but the minister can issue further rules and your records must show the export of goods (article 26). For each shipment, keep: the ASYCUDA export declaration, the Bill of Lading or Air Waybill, your export invoice with the foreign customer's address and the bank record of the payment. Without that proof the VAT Inspectorate can assess 10% VAT. If in doubt, ask the VAT Inspectorate (1960 extension 345). VAT in Suriname

Foreign exchange: repatriate and sell 35%

Since 2021 exporters must bring their export proceeds into Suriname. The Foreign Exchange Commission tightened that rule with General Decision (Algemene Beschikking) no. 228 of 31 July 2026, effective 17 August 2026:

You repatriate the proceeds of exports of goods, services and assets to an account at a foreign exchange bank in Suriname.
You sell at least 35% of it within three working days of the transfer to a Surinamese foreign exchange bank that has a correspondent relationship with the foreign bank through which the money came in.
Gold exporters sell their 35% to the Central Bank of Suriname, at the bank's weighted average rate.
You do not have to sell the remainder under this rule; it stays in your foreign currency account.

Business organisations such as the VSB (Suriname Trade and Industry Association) say the mandatory sale holds back production, and the rule is under debate. Follow the news and ask your bank how it applies the rule. As early as 2023 the government announced that the Public Prosecutor would act against exporters who evade the scheme. Current rates: Exchange rates today.

Certificates by product

Product	Authority	What you need
Vegetables, fruit, plants, wood	LVV, Plant Protection and Quality Inspection Service	Phytosanitary certificate (Plant Protection Act 2020). For that: an export code, a quality manager, registered growers with a producer code, traceability, GAP farming, and a request for export inspection. Wooden packaging to ISPM 15.
Meat, live animals, animal products	LVV, Directorate of Livestock (Veterinary Services)	International veterinary certificate; only products from approved establishments
Fish and shrimp	Fish Inspection Institute (VKI), Vangbalstraat 29	Export only by VKI-approved companies; health certificate on request with the ED, production statement and pre-notification (heavy metals, PAHs, process water). Fees per kg net plus administration costs.
Processed foods	BOG Inspection Service, Rode Kruislaan 13-15	Producer's declaration and batch data; analysis at the Central Laboratory, results within 10 working days
Products sold in Suriname	Suriname Standards Bureau (SSB) with EZOTI	Certificate of Free Sale, if the buyer asks for it; processed within 10 working days

Mango exports to Europe stopped in 2019 under EU fruit fly rules and are resuming from Nickerie, which has been declared a Pest Free Area. Rules like these differ by product and country: check them before you accept an order.

Timber, fish and gold: special rules

Timber

Timber exports go through the Foundation for Forest Management and Production Control (SBB). You request an inspection of the timber you want to export; SBB records the FOB value, quality, species, volume and dimensions, and you pay an inspection fee (Inspection Tariff Decree for Round Wood, Wood Products and Forest By-products 2023). On round logs and roughly processed wood you pay export duty (Timber Export Duty Act, S.B. 2005 no. 29). It is levied on minimum fiscal values in force since 1 December 2023, for example USD 220 per m³ for class A round logs and USD 210 per m³ for class B. The percentage depends on the degree of processing: according to the Timber Trade Portal from 20% down to 5%, the more processed, the lower. Ask SBB and Customs for the rate for your product.

Fish

Since 2007 the VKI has been the competent authority that controls the whole production chain, as the EU requires. Only processing companies approved by the VKI may export fish. For the EU you also need a catch certificate (against illegal fishing, IUU); ask the Fisheries Directorate of LVV about the procedure.

Gold

Gold exports are strictly regulated and run through the Suriname Electronic Single Window. Purity and weight are determined before export (at Kaloti Suriname Mint House or through the Central Bank), and you pay provisional consent fee and royalties in advance. Under General Decision no. 228, gold exporters sell 35% of their proceeds to the Central Bank. If you want to trade in gold, first talk to the Central Bank and the ministry responsible for mining. Prices: Gold and oil price.

Market access: CARICOM, EU and other agreements

CARICOM

Under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, goods of CARICOM origin can enter the other member states with lower or no import duty. Your customer needs a certificate of origin and a CARICOM invoice. The product must really be made or sufficiently processed in Suriname; repacking alone is usually not enough.

European Union

Suriname falls under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and CARIFORUM, provisionally applied since 29 December 2008. The EU gives 100% duty-free and quota-free access for goods from CARIFORUM countries that meet the rules of origin. Proof of origin is an EUR.1 certificate, issued by the customs authority of the exporting country, or an origin declaration by the exporter on the invoice for shipments up to EUR 6,000 (above that only by an approved exporter). The proof is valid for ten months. Your product must still meet EU food safety, residue and labelling rules.

Other agreements

According to EZOTI, Suriname also has: the CARIFORUM-UK EPA (United Kingdom), CARICOM free trade agreements with Costa Rica, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, and a Partial Scope Agreement for rice with northern Brazil. EZOTI's International Trade sub-directorate can tell you which agreement gives the most benefit for your product and market.

The official guides we checked do not say who in Suriname issues the CARICOM certificate of origin. Ask EZOTI (402080) or the KKF before you plan your first shipment. The EUR.1 certificate is issued by Customs.

Logistics: port and air cargo

Sea freight goes through the Dr. Jules Sedney Harbour in Paramaribo (Nieuwe Haven until 2016), managed by Havenbeheer Suriname. DP World runs a container terminal there with a capacity of 130,000 TEU a year, a reefer station with 119 plugs and a container freight station for stuffing containers. For project and general cargo there is the La Vigilantia terminal. Air cargo goes through Johan Adolf Pengel airport. For perishables (fish, vegetables, fruit) the cold chain is the main risk: plan inspection, loading and departure tightly.

What Suriname exports

The economy runs on exports of crude oil, gold, rice, fish, timber and bananas. Key destinations in 2022 were the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Support and funding for exporters

SITA (Suriname Investment and Trade Agency, founded in 2021) promotes exports and investment. With NOB and IDB funding it runs the Export Marketing Cost-Share Grant programme: up to 90% of market entry costs (trade fairs, product certification, marketing), for SMEs outside mining and oil, with priority for first-time exporters and women-owned businesses. Through EIP Phase II you can get up to 85% of the cost of an export marketing plan with a certified export adviser.
EZOTI: the IUD for licences and the International Trade sub-directorate for trade agreements.
KKF: registration, extracts and brochures for exporters.
SSB: standards and the Certificate of Free Sale.
Funding: Business financing.

Common mistakes

Thinking about certificates only after the sale. A phytosanitary or veterinary certificate needs preparation: registration, inspection, laboratory. Start before you agree a price.
Leaving proceeds abroad. That breaches the foreign exchange rules.
Forgetting the 35% sale in your price. Calculate your margin with the rate you get when selling to the bank.
Applying 0% VAT without proof. Without an export declaration in your records you risk an assessment of 10% VAT.
No certificate of origin. Your customer in CARICOM or the EU then pays the full rate and you are more expensive than your competitor.
Selling repacked goods as a "Surinamese product". That usually does not meet the rules of origin.

What if...

...I export services, not goods? Then there is no export declaration, but outsourcing for a foreign customer is still 0% VAT, and the repatriation and 35% sale also apply to proceeds from services.
...I also import? See Importing goods and the Import cost calculator.
...a foreign investor wants to fund my export business? See Investing in Suriname.

Sources

Checked on 21 October 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a licence to export from Suriname?

No, anyone registered with the KKF may export. Only goods on the Negative List need an H-03 licence from the IUD at EZOTI; food, fish, plants, timber and gold have separate inspections.

Is VAT charged on exports from Suriname?

No, the supply of exported goods is zero-rated (VAT Act 2022, article 4(2)). You can still deduct VAT on your purchases; keep the export declaration and transport documents as proof.

Do I have to convert my export proceeds into SRD?

Partly. Under General Decision no. 228 of the Foreign Exchange Commission (in force since 17 August 2026) you repatriate the proceeds and sell at least 35% to a Surinamese foreign exchange bank within three working days; gold exporters sell to the Central Bank.

Who issues the phytosanitary certificate for exports?

The Plant Protection and Quality Inspection Service of the Ministry of Agriculture (LVV), after an export inspection. You need, among other things, an export code, a quality manager and a traceability system.

Can I export fish from Suriname?

Only through a processing company approved by the Fish Inspection Institute (VKI). The VKI issues the health certificate; for the EU a catch certificate is also required.

Do I pay EU import duty on products from Suriname?

Goods that meet the rules of origin of the EU-CARIFORUM EPA enter the EU duty-free and quota-free. You need an EUR.1 certificate from Customs, or an origin declaration on the invoice for shipments up to EUR 6,000.

Do I pay export duty on timber?

Yes, round logs and roughly processed wood carry export duty under the Timber Export Duty Act, levied on minimum fiscal values (since 1 December 2023, for example USD 220 per m³ for class A round logs). SBB inspects the timber before export.