Cross-border B2B trade is regulated on both ends. This page describes how Silk Road Africa meets export obligations in China and import obligations in each destination country — and what we expect from buyers and suppliers on the platform.
1. Our shared responsibilities
Silk Road Africa acts as the merchant of record for orders placed through our platform. We coordinate customs clearance on both sides, but compliance is a shared responsibility:
- Suppliers are responsible for accurate product classification, origin declarations, and export licensing inside China.
- Buyers are responsible for ensuring the goods are lawful to import, use, and resell in the destination country, and for providing accurate recipient KYC where required.
- Silk Road Africa operates sanctions screening, curates the catalogue to exclude restricted items, arranges licensed freight forwarders and customs brokers, and retains records for audit.
2. Sanctions and denied-party screening
We screen buyers, suppliers, recipients, and beneficial owners against major sanctions and denied-party lists, including:
- UN Security Council Consolidated List
- OFAC (US) SDN and sectoral lists
- EU Consolidated Financial Sanctions List
- UK OFSI Consolidated List
- PRC Ministry of Commerce Unreliable Entity List
- Destination-country PEP and AML watchlists where available
Screening runs at account creation, at order placement, and on an ongoing basis. Matches are reviewed; confirmed matches trigger refusal, suspension, and statutory reporting where required.
3. Export controls (China)
Our suppliers operate under China's Export Control Law, Customs Law, and related regulations. For the curated consumer categories we support — home, hotel supplies, consumer electronics, beauty, baby products, groceries — export licences are rarely required beyond standard customs declarations. Where a licence is required (for example, dual-use items), we will not ship until the supplier produces the licence and we independently verify it.
4. Import regulations (destinations)
Rules differ by country. We maintain country-by-country playbooks for our active lanes (Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Ghana, South Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Uganda, Egypt, Morocco) covering:
- Pre-shipment inspection regimes (SONCAP, PVoC, COC, CTN, BESC).
- Product-category standards (SON, KEBS, RSB, SABS, GSB, etc.) for electronics, cosmetics, food, and children's goods.
- Labelling, language, and country-of-origin marking requirements.
- Duties, VAT, and exemption schemes such as AfCFTA where applicable.
- Restricted, prohibited, and controlled-goods lists.
5. Prohibited and restricted goods
The platform does not list, source, or ship:
- Weapons, ammunition, explosives, and military / dual-use items.
- Controlled substances, precursors, and untested pharmaceuticals.
- Counterfeits and items infringing third-party IP.
- Goods with false country-of-origin marks or falsified certificates.
- Endangered species and products regulated under CITES.
- Used goods misrepresented as new.
- Hazardous materials outside a dedicated HAZMAT workflow (contact us in advance).
Additional category-specific restrictions apply by destination — for example, certain cosmetic actives, infant formula without local registration, or electronics above a specified battery capacity. These are surfaced at quotation time.
6. Product safety and certification
Where a product requires certification to be sold or used legally in the destination country, we coordinate:
- Certificates of conformity (COC / SONCAP / PVoC) where required.
- Factory audits and pre-shipment inspections through accredited third parties (SGS, Bureau Veritas, Intertek) for qualifying orders.
- Lab test reports for categories such as cosmetics, baby products, and electrical equipment.
Inspection fees, where applicable, are itemised on your quotation.
7. Anti-counterfeit and IP
Brand owners may submit IP notices via ip@silkroadafrica.com. We remove infringing listings expeditiously and may terminate repeat infringers. Buyers sourcing branded goods must have, or warrant the supplier has, a legitimate licence to distribute that brand in the destination country.
8. Anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist financing
We apply risk-based AML / CFT controls:
- KYC at onboarding for buyers, suppliers, and their beneficial owners.
- Enhanced due diligence for high-risk jurisdictions or large tickets.
- Transaction monitoring and unusual-activity review.
- Statutory reporting to competent authorities where required.
9. Records and audit
We retain order, customs, and screening records for at least 7 years. These records may be shared with regulators, tax authorities, and courts when legally required.
10. Report a concern
Compliance concerns, suspected sanctions evasion, or IP infringement: compliance@silkroadafrica.com. Reports can be made anonymously; retaliation against reporters is prohibited.