Art. 99.4 of the Public Procurement Code provides that factors may be foreseen that grant greater weight to bids submitting goods produced, extracted or farmed in Cabo Verde or relating to services provided or supplies made by entities of Cabo-Verdean nationality or with registered offices in Cabo-Verdean territory. Moreover, Art. 13 states that, in the contract formation procedure, all factors contributing to the promotion of national economic development, production development, procurement, industry and services of Cabo Verde, as well as compliance with national social policies, shall be considered.

Cabo Verde is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), nor does it have observer status.

There are no foreign ownership limitations in sectors relevant to digital trade, as confirmed by Decree-Law No. 34/2013.

It is reported that an approval process serves as a screening mechanism for inbound foreign investment. The process begins with the submission of a formal expression of interest to the investment promotion agency Cabo Verde TradeInvest in accordance with the Investment Law. Relevant government entities (depending on the sector and the nature of the investment) then conduct an integrated review of the investment project and provide an opinion. If the opinion is favourable, Cabo Verde TradeInvest, in coordination with relevant agencies, approves the project and issues an investor certificate no later than 45 days from the submission of interest.

Art. 226 of the Legislative Decree approving the Intellectual Property Code provides that the applicant must appoint a representative in Cabo Verde in the case of patent applications filed by interested parties (natural or legal persons) who are not domiciled or established in Cabo Verde. However, the interested party or the holder of the right, whether natural or legal, domiciled or resident in Cabo Verde, is free to present his applications for industrial property titles in person or to have them presented by a recognised lawyer (Art. 225(1)).

Cabo Verde is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Cabo Verde has a copyright regime under Decree-Law No. 1/2009. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Art. 62 lists the exceptions, which include: the purposes of research or private study by the person using the work; the use in a private event that is not for profit and for which entry is not charged; the review or news reporting; the reproduction by photographic or similar processes, when carried out for didactic purposes by public or private libraries or centres; the use in documentation files of general interest or public institutions with a scientific or technological vocation; or the use by educational establishments; the reproduction of works, permanently exposed to the public through images or reports for academic use; the reproduction of an arrangement or translation exclusively for individual and private use; quotations from copyright work and critics; speeches and lectures before the media; performance of hymns, as well as works of a religious character; private reproduction of an arrangement or translation exclusively for an individual; among others.

According to Art. 17 of Decree No. 100/97, importers of electronic communications equipment must register and obtain validation and authorisation of intent to import from the Telecommunications Regulatory and Control Agency (ARCT).

Type approval procedures in Burundi are regulated by the "Agence de regulation et de controle des telecommuincations". It is reported that the conformity requirements are similar to those of the European Union. The homologation process in X does not require local laboratory testing or contact with local representatives.

According to Arts. 20-21 of Decree No. 100/97, any natural or legal person wishing to operate a value-added service must obtain prior authorisation from the "Agence de Régulation et de Contrôle des Télécommunications" (ARCT, Regulatory Agency for Telecommunications). According to the Decree, value-added services include exploiting electronic commerce platforms and operating money transfer and mobile payment platforms. To apply, the following documents must be submitted: a reasoned application, the identification of the applicant, the technical and financial means that it intends to use, and the concessionaire with whom it intends to establish a partnership, if applicable.

Burundi does not implement any de minimis threshold, which is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties. However, there is an informal reported threshold of USD 100.

According to Art. 18 of Burundi's Commercial Code, foreign merchants residing outside Burundi must have an elected domicile in Burundi and appoint a legal representative who has permanent residence in Burundi.

Burundi does not have a legal framework that applies consumer protection to online transactions. However, the Electronic Transaction Law covering online consumer protection is in draft state.

Burundi has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.