Lesotho National Single Window
The Lesotho National Single Window (LNSW) is a web-enabled application that allows traders (importer, exporters or their agents) to access from a single portal the means to prepare and submit applications electronically for various regulatory Certificates, Licenses and Permits (CLPs) required for international trade.
The LNSW has been introduced to automate the process of applying for and processing the required CLPs used in Lesotho cross-border trade. It aims to not only reduce the time and cost involved in obtaining the required CLPs, but also to enable Lesotho to meet its international and regional commitments to trade facilitation. The LNSW is therefore targeted at directly improving the trade environment for the trading community and also modernizing and improving the everyday working environment of the involved government agencies.
Use of the LNSW will remove the need for traders to physically visit the different government agencies to obtain application forms, deposit completed applications and supporting documents, make payments and collect the issued permit. All such activities will be able to be conducted online from the applicants place of work, or even on a mobile phone. The LNSW will further reduce travel, congestion and reduce the use of paper.
Please note to use the LNSW and make applications for the different CLPs, the applicant must first be registered. Details on how to register on the LNSW can be found here.
In the first stage of introduction of the LNSW, the following Agencies/CLPs were automated:
- For Ministry of Trade / One-Stop Business Facilitation Centre
- For Lesotho Revenue Authority
With the successful introduction of the above, the Ministry of Agriculture together with the Lesotho National Dairy Board came on-board to the LNSW from September 2025 with the automation of the following CLPs.
- Department of Marketing
- Import Permit for Controlled Commodities*
- Export Permit for Wool and Mohair
* The specific commodies covered by the Import Permit of the Department of Marketing are for: Vegetables & Fruit, Bread, Table Eggs, Legumes for General Traders, Legumes for Packers, Meat and Processed Meat, Suguar, Wheat Savingram
- Department of Livestock
- Import Permit for Animals and Animal Products*
- Export Permit for Animals and Animal Products**
* The specific commodies covered by the Import Permit of the Department of Livestock are for: Animal Semen, Beef Sausages, Bone-in Meat (Beef, Pork & Mutton), Chicken Meat, Cloven-Hoofed Live Animals, Deboned Meat (Beef & Pork), Ducklings, Equine, Live Birds, Live Dogs and Cats, Live Fish and Fish Products, Live Wildlife; Meat Pies, Medicines and Vaccines, Milk and Milk Products, Offal’s, Pork and Pork Product, Poultry and Fertile Eggs, Processed Meat, Salmonidae Ova, Skins and Hides, Table Eggs, Turkey Meat.
** The specific commodies covered by the Export Permit of the Department of Livestock are for: Wool & Mohair, Dogs & Cats, Skins & Hides, Fish Products, Cloven Hoofed Animals, Mils & Milk Products.
- Department of Agricultural Reasearch
- Import Permit for Plant and Plant Products***
- Export Phytosanitary Certificate
*** The specific commodies covered by the Import/Export Permit of the Department of Agricultural Research are for: Plants, Vegatbles & Fuit, Legume Seeds, Legumes for General Traders, & Packers, Wheat (for SADC countries)
- Lesotho National Dairy Board
- Import Permit for Dairy Products
- Export Permit for Dairy Products
All remaining CLPs of the following government agencies came under the LNSW operation by October and December 2025, including:
- Lesotho Medicines Regulatory Authority
- Import Permit for Psychotropic Drugs and Narcotics
- Import Permit for Medicines and Medical Devices
- Import Permit for Medicines and Medical Devices (Donations)
- Export Permit for Medicines and Medical Devices
- Export Permit for Medicines and Medical Devices (Individual)
- Ministry of Health, Department for Environmental Health
- Import Permit for Non-Iodized Salt
- Export Health Certificate
- Export Certificate for Human Remains
- Ministry of Tourism, Sports Arts and Culture, Department of Tourism
- Import Permit for Alcohol
- Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Department of Traffic
- Cross Border Permit for Road Transport
- Ministry of Mining, Department of Mines
- Import Permit for Explosives [jointly processed with Department of Mines]
- Export Permit for Rock Samples
- Minsitry of Police, Lesotho Mounted Police Service
- Import Permit for Explosives [jointly processed with Department of Mines]
- Import Permit for Firearms and Ammunition
- Export Permit for Firearms
- In-Transit Permit for Firearms (for Diplomats)
- In-Transit Permit for Firearms (for Lesotho Permit Holders)
- In-Transit Permit for Firearms (for non-Lesotho Permit Holders
Issue of electronic Certificate, License and Permit
After making an application, the necessary information and supporting documents will be directed to all responsible agencies for their review and approval. Note that through the LNSW only one application is required even if more than one agency is involved in the approval process; for example, where there was previously need to obtain both an Import Permit from the Department of Markettng and an Import Permit from the Department of Livestock for the import of meat, now only one application will be made and directed to both departments for their processing with issue of a single CLP covering both departments approvals.
Should the agency need to query the application, contact will be made via the LNSW message service for action of the trader, the trader will be notified by email and/or SMS also of this need for action.
Upon successful approval of the application, the trader will be notified if there is need to pay any fees, otherwise they will be informed of the CLP being issued and invited to view the details or download the generated electronic CLP. The downloaded CLP may be retained by the trader for their records.
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Note that on subsequent preparation of import / export declarations through the Customs’ ASYCUDA World there is no longer the need to scan and attach the permit as a supporting document to the declaration if it has been issued through LNSW. Now, at time of preparation of the customs declaration, and at box 44 of the SAD, the declarant will be asked to enter the LNSW No. of the corresponding CLP asked for. All other processing of ASYCUDA World remains unchanged.
