Industry Development

Government of Samoa, through the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour, is committed to promoting and encouraging the development of all sectors in Samoa. One way is through providing assistance schemes that have been created to assist and encourage production, exports and employment in businesses and industries. The main purpose of these schemes, as summarised below, is to support qualifying projects and qualifying businesses by providing duty concessions on approved goods or materials that are required at the early stage of these developments. A Guide to development programs in Samoa also provides information for the private sector on all programs operating in Samoa that provide support directly to individual businesses. The MSME Development Policy and Strategy is another step by the Government to ensure the growth and sustainability of Samoa’s MSME sector.

This Scheme is aimed to assist eligible businesses within the Manufacturing, Tourism, Agriculture and Fisheries Industries through the importation of materials on duty free basis under the Provision of the Customs Amendment Act 2007 (Section 163A)  , Customs Amendment Act 2022 (Section 127A), Customs (Tourism and Manufacturing) Amendment Regulation 2010 and Customs (Tourism and Manufacturing Development) Amendment Regulations 2019.

This scheme is to further develop domestic businesses including: Commercial Poultry Farmers, Commercial Manufacturers of Agricultural Products, Commercial Handicraft Manufacturers and Commercial Elei Garment Manufacturers by exempting duty from 8% to 0% for imported raw materials and particular materials imported by businesses approved under the Customs Tariff Amendment Act 2008. A completed application form must be submitted with required information to our office for analysis.

The purpose of the scheme is to encourage further development of the Aviation Transport Industry for small aircraft carriers, in Samoa.  The Scheme provides for the exemption of Customs Duty on Approved aircrafts or parts imported from overseas suppliers for use by approved businesses under the provisions of the Customs Amendment Act 2022 (Section 127A), & the Customs (Aviation Transport Development) Regulation 2012.

The MSME Development Policy and Strategy recognises the importance of micro, small and medium size enterprises to the national economy and local livelihoods, with efforts on developing Samoa’s MSME sector. This Policy is the first step of Government to formalise MSME context and policy issues; to re-focus efforts and interventions, to reconnect with development partners, and to ensure growth and sustainability of MSME; with a vision that, “Samoa will have a sustainable and globally competitive MSME sector that contributes to growth in GDP, employment and exports”.

The main purpose of this Guide is to provide clear and reader-friendly information on all the private sector development programs operating in Samoa. This will allow all stakeholders to understand the objectives, criteria, operations and relevance of each program and thereby improve the prospects for effective collaboration and flow-on benefits to the Private Sector. The Guide will be reviewed and updated on an annual basis for the benefit of stakeholders.