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How to Ship from China to South Africa: Durban, VAT & NRCS
Register before you order. South Africa is the strictest lane in this series on this point: every importer must be registered with the South African Revenue Service and hold a customs client code, and the declaration cannot be lodged without one. In 2026 there is an extra reason to check it early — SARS has been migrating all customs traders onto its Registration, Licensing and Accreditation platform, the migration is enforced, and a code that has not been migrated can be suspended. A suspended code does not send a reminder. It sends a container into storage.
The second thing is that there is no free trade agreement between China and South Africa, so Chinese-origin goods are assessed at the general MFN rates. That makes this the opposite of the Australia and New Zealand lanes: here the duty is real money, and on some product categories — clothing and footwear especially — it is the largest single number on the landed cost.
The third thing is that the VAT is charged on more than you paid the supplier. South Africa calculates import VAT on an Added Tax Value that adds a ten percent uplift to the FOB value before the duty goes on top. Fifteen percent of a number that is bigger than your invoice is meaningfully more than fifteen percent of your invoice, and importers who miss it find out at the terminal.
If you read one section: confirm your customs client code is registered and migrated before you place the order; look up the MFN rate for your tariff heading before you agree a price with the supplier; and check whether your product needs an NRCS letter of authority, because that is measured in months and it cannot be obtained at the port.
How your cargo moves: China to South Africa
Eight steps from your supplier's door to yours. The last four are the ones shaped by local rules.
- Pickup from your supplierWe collect the goods anywhere in China and bring them to our consolidation point.
- Export clearanceChina customs declaration filed and released before the goods move to the port.
- Loading and departureContainer loaded, sealed and handed to the carrier at the Chinese port.
- Main carriageOcean, air or rail movement booked on the route agreed for your cargo.
- Arrival at the gatewayDischarge at the port or airport of entry, recorded on the carrier's manifest.
- Import clearanceCustoms declaration filed locally, with duty and tax assessed on the declared value.
- Customs releaseGoods released into free circulation once duty and tax are settled.
- Final deliveryOnward movement to your delivery address, warehouse or nominated depot.
Duty rates, VAT rates and clearance times move, and the figure that applies to your goods is the one set for your commodity code on the day of clearance. We check the current position against your code before your goods sail and confirm it to you in writing — ask for that check when you request a quote.
Register with the revenue service before you order
South Africa requires importers to be registered before goods arrive, and in practice a first-time importer should treat registration as the first item on the critical path rather than an errand to run while the container sails.
| What you need | Who issues it | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Customs client code | South African Revenue Service, via eFiling | The number previously known as an importer's code. Required for the declaration to be lodged at all. Needs a South African income tax reference and supporting entity documents. |
| RLA registration | SARS Registration, Licensing and Accreditation platform | All customs and excise traders have been migrated onto the platform and the migration is enforced. SARS has said no automatic extensions are granted, and an unmigrated code can be suspended. |
| VAT registration | SARS | Without it, the import VAT is a cost rather than a recoverable input. A VAT-registered business claims it back against output VAT on the next return, evidenced by the SAD 500. |
| A licensed clearing agent | Registered with SARS | The declaration is lodged electronically and the agent has the systems and the standing to do it. For a first import this is not optional in practice. |
| Sector permits and approvals | NRCS, ICASA, ITAC, SAHPRA and others | See the sections below. These belong to the product, and permits cannot be obtained retrospectively once the declaration has been lodged. |
A foreign business with no South African entity cannot simply register as an importer of record. The usual routes are to sell to a South African company that holds its own code, to appoint a local importer of record, or to move the goods under an arrangement where the registration sits with a South African partner. Whichever it is, settle it in writing before the goods are built, because a shipment that lands ahead of the registration is a storage problem.
Durban, Cape Town, Ngqura and the Johannesburg inland terminal
South Africa's ports are far apart and the inland distances are long, so the gateway decision has a direct effect on both the schedule and the inland bill.
| Gateway | Region served | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Durban | Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the interior | The busiest container port in sub-Saharan Africa and the primary gateway for Johannesburg and Pretoria. Volume brings services and it also brings congestion, which arrives in bursts and is worth a buffer in the schedule. |
| Cape Town | Western Cape | Serves the agricultural and retail sectors of the Western Cape. Subject to wind-related berthing delays in the summer months, where a strong south-easterly can close operations for days. |
| Ngqura (Coega) and Port Elizabeth | Eastern Cape | The automotive hub, and frequently the most stable of the three. Often used as a relief port when Durban is gridlocked, with the inland leg to Gauteng run afterwards. |
| Richards Bay | Its own hinterland | Serves bulk and industrial cargo rather than the general container trade. |
| Johannesburg inland terminal | Gauteng | Johannesburg is not a seaport. Gauteng consignees are served by an inland container terminal, and the road and rail haul from Durban can approach the cost of the sea freight itself. This is the line item that quietly doubles a cheap quote. |
| OR Tambo, Cape Town and Durban airports | Air freight | Johannesburg has the most consistent lift out of China; Cape Town and Durban usually route through a hub. |
Ask for the freight quote and the inland leg together, and ask which gateway the quote assumes. A Durban rate for a Cape Town consignee is not a quote.
How long into South Africa by vessel and aircraft
| Mode | Typical transit | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Ocean FCL, Shenzhen to Durban | Commonly around twenty two to twenty eight days port to port | Regular volume, and the fastest of the main pairings on this lane. |
| Ocean FCL, Shanghai or Ningbo to Durban | Commonly around twenty four to thirty days | East China origins. Qingdao runs longer still. |
| Ocean FCL to Cape Town | Commonly around twenty five to thirty five days | Western Cape consignees. Add the wind risk in the summer months. |
| Ocean FCL to Ngqura or Port Elizabeth | Commonly around twenty four to thirty two days | Eastern Cape and automotive, and often the most reliable of the gateways when Durban is congested. |
| Ocean LCL | Commonly around four to six weeks door to door | Trial orders and part loads. Consolidation adds days at the origin and deconsolidation adds more at the destination. |
| Air freight | Around two to five days airport to airport into Johannesburg, longer to Cape Town or Durban via a hub | Urgent, high value density, spares, and anything on a production schedule that has already slipped. |
| Clearance and the buffer | Variable, and practitioners on this lane advise one to two weeks of slack on sea freight | Congestion, weather and SARS queries are the three variables, and they arrive independently. |
We do not publish freight rates here. Ask for base freight, origin charges in China, destination charges in South Africa, duty, VAT, the clearing agent's fee and the inland haul as separate lines, so you can see what moved when the price changes. See our local charges page.
Duty, VAT and the ten percent uplift
Two calculations decide the bill, and the bases are different. This is the part most first-time importers get wrong.
- Customs duty = the FOB customs value multiplied by the duty rate. Freight and insurance are excluded from the duty base.
- Import VAT = fifteen percent of the Added Tax Value, which is the FOB value plus a ten percent uplift plus the duty payable. The uplift is SARS's proxy for freight and insurance, and it does not apply to goods originating in the SACU countries.
A worked example, because the compounding is easier to see in rand. Take goods with an FOB value of R10,000 and a duty rate of 15 percent:
- Customs duty: 15% of R10,000 = R1,500
- Ten percent uplift: 10% of R10,000 = R1,000
- Added Tax Value: 10,000 + 1,000 + 1,500 = R12,500
- VAT at 15%: R1,875
- Total payable on importation: R3,375
Two numbers again. A business registered for VAT claims the import VAT back as an input tax credit on its next return, evidenced by the SAD 500, so for them it is cash flow rather than cost and the real cost is the R1,500 of duty. A business that is not VAT registered bears the whole R3,375. On a lane where duty rates on some categories run high, that difference decides whether the order works. Confirm rates and the current treatment with your clearing agent before you price a deal.
Incoterms on a South Africa booking, and who clears
The trade term divides cost and risk. It does not give you a customs client code, and it does not remove a permit.
- EXW — you collect at the supplier's door and carry everything, including Chinese export formalities. Rarely sensible for a first import.
- FOB — the supplier loads and clears Chinese export; you take over at the Chinese port. The usual choice, and it matters here because the duty base is the FOB value.
- CIF — the supplier pays freight and insurance to the South African port, risk passes in China, and you still clear. Not delivered.
- DAP — delivered to a named place in South Africa, with you handling the declaration, duty and VAT. Name the actual place, including whether it is the port or the inland terminal.
- DDP — the seller carries duty and taxes too, which requires a South African party holding a valid customs client code. Ask who that is and who is liable, because a DDP offer with no South African importer named is not a DDP offer.
The SAD 500, and the release note that ends the process
The SAD 500 is South Africa's single administrative document: the goods declaration that carries the tariff classification, the customs value and the duty and VAT calculation. It is lodged electronically, normally by a licensed clearing agent, against the importer's customs client number.
Confirm the code is live
Registered with SARS, migrated on the RLA platform, and active. This is the gate on everything else, and it is checked before the first booking rather than during it.
Classify against the South African tariff
The tariff book is aligned to the Harmonised System at six digits but carries its own national subheadings below that, so a classification that was correct on the Chinese export side can still be wrong on the South African import side. Reconcile the two before the goods ship.
Secure the permits and approvals
NRCS, ICASA, ITAC and any sector certificate. These cannot be obtained retrospectively once the declaration has been lodged, which is the practical reason to start them months early.
Lodge the declaration, ideally before arrival
Submitted electronically by the clearing agent. Lodging ahead of the vessel is what stops storage accruing, and storage at a container terminal is expensive.
Pay, and answer any query
Duty and VAT are paid. SARS audits undervalued goods routinely, and a vague invoice description is one of the most common causes of a query. A query at Durban costs free days.
Take the release note
Once the assessment is complete and any risk check is done, SARS releases the goods for home consumption and the process ends with a release note. Only then does the inland leg begin.
A consignment from Yantian, followed to a warehouse in Johannesburg
Gauteng is where a large share of South African imports end up, and Johannesburg is inland. This is a routine shipment into it.
Register, and check the migration
Before the purchase order: the customs client code exists, it is migrated on the RLA platform, and the VAT registration is in place if the importer is going to claim the VAT back.
Look up the rate, and the approvals
The MFN rate for the tariff heading, whether an NRCS letter of authority or an ICASA approval is needed, and whether ITAC permits apply. On this lane the answer to any of those can change the order.
Collect, consolidate, clear Chinese export
Goods collected from the factory, or from several factories and consolidated, cleared for export, weighed for the verified gross mass and loaded. See our consolidated shipment page if you are buying from more than one supplier.
Sail to Durban
Roughly twenty two to twenty eight days from South China, with a buffer for congestion. Documentation can be lodged ahead of arrival.
Assess and pay on two different bases
Duty on the FOB value, VAT on the Added Tax Value. The clearing agent calculates both on the SAD 500, and the importer pays before release.
Release, then the inland leg
Release note issued, then the road or rail haul from Durban to the inland terminal and on to the warehouse. This leg is a cost line in its own right and it has its own schedule.
Where the duty comes from, and the rebates that remove it
Because there is no free trade agreement with China, the rate is whatever the tariff book says for your heading, and the spread is wide.
| Product category | Typical general rate | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial machinery | Commonly free | The most favourable category, and often the reason capital equipment projects pencil out. |
| Electronics and IT equipment | Commonly in the low single digits | Low duty, but the NRCS letter of authority and ICASA approval are where the delay sits. |
| Clothing and footwear | High — commonly quoted well above thirty percent on some lines | The category where duty dominates the landed cost, and where an inaccurate classification is most expensive. |
| Steel and steel products | Moderate to high, and subject to change | Often also caught by safeguard or anti-dumping measures. |
| Alcohol, tobacco and fuel | Excise, by volume or quantity | Specialist handling, dutiable at any value, outside the ordinary calculation. |
Before you accept the headline rate, ask a clearing agent two questions. Is there a rebate or a duty credit scheme that applies to my situation? South Africa operates rebate provisions for goods used in the manufacture of exports, among others, and a rebate that takes a high rate to nil is worth more than any freight negotiation. And is the classification right? Fibre content and construction change the tariff line on apparel, and the duty difference between two adjacent headings can exceed the margin.
NRCS, and the letter of authority you cannot obtain at the port
The National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications enforces South Africa's compulsory specifications, and for regulated products the Letter of Authority is a prerequisite to clearance rather than a formality to tidy up afterwards.
What it covers, and how long it takes
The regulated categories include household appliances, power supplies and adaptors, LED lighting and luminaires, certain IT equipment, batteries, some automotive products and some building materials. A rule of thumb used by practitioners: if it plugs into a wall socket, assume it is regulated and check.
Timelines are the problem. Testing where required is commonly quoted in weeks, the LOA review in further weeks, and a first-time LOA in months. A container held pending documentation turns into demurrage and storage that routinely exceeds the cost of the compliance work itself.
LOA, LOC, and who holds them
An LOA is the primary approval, tied to an applicant and to a model. A Letter of Confirmation is issued to a specific importer for a specific shipment where an LOA already exists, and it is much faster. If your product is already covered by an LOA held by someone else, ask whether an LOC will do.
The application is made by a South African registered importer or a local authorised representative, with the overseas manufacturer's authorisation. A CE mark is not a substitute: the regulator requires verification against the South African standards, including the local plug and voltage.
ICASA, SABS and the approvals behind the letter
ICASA, for anything that transmits
The Independent Communications Authority requires type approval for radio, wireless and telecommunications equipment before it can be cleared or connected. Anything with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, GPS or a remote control is caught. A product can need both this and the NRCS letter: a mains-powered router with wireless sits in both regimes.
SABS and SANS, and the standards behind them
The South African Bureau of Standards publishes the SANS standards that the compulsory specifications are built on. SANS is the technical standard; the NRCS approval is the legal permission. South Africa runs on 230V at 50Hz and the plug standard is its own, so products built for another market need the differences designed in rather than adapted later.
Two further regimes catch importers out. Extended producer responsibility for electrical and electronic equipment treats the importer as the producer, with registration, a producer responsibility organisation and reporting obligations. And medical devices fall to the health products regulator, which licenses the establishment that imports and distributes them.
Used goods, textiles and the permits nobody expects
The International Trade Administration Commission issues import permits for controlled categories, and the one that surprises people most is second-hand and refurbished goods. A used machine, a container of refurbished equipment or second-hand clothing is not an ordinary import: it needs a permit, and the permit has to exist before the goods move.
Certain chemicals, and specific steel and textile products, also fall within the permit regime. The instruction is the same one that applies to the NRCS letter: check the requirement against your tariff heading before the cargo leaves China, because permits cannot be obtained retrospectively once the declaration has been lodged.
Anti-dumping, and what it does to a cheap quote
South Africa maintains anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard duties, and China features in a number of the measures. These sit on top of the general rate, they are imposed by product, and they are revised.
The cheap quote is the risk. Anti-dumping duty exists precisely where a price looks too good. If a Chinese offer undercuts the market by a margin that does not make sense, check whether the product is subject to a measure before you commit — because the duty that arrives with it is charged to you, not to the supplier, and it is not recoverable. Check the current measures for your tariff heading, and re-check before each season.
Buying on a marketplace, and importing as a registered importer
Through a marketplace
Small parcels are assessed and released, and for a sample or a replacement part that is convenient. What the platform route does not give you is control: no classification of your choosing, no letter of authority held in your name, no rebate claim, and no file that will answer a SARS audit later.
Note also that South Africa does not have a general low-value exemption comparable to the thresholds in Australia or New Zealand, so there is no reason to assume a small commercial parcel passes untaxed.
As a registered importer
You hold the customs client code, choose the classification, hold the approvals, control the invoice description, and build a file that will survive an audit. It is more work in the first month and far cheaper per unit at any scale.
It is also the only route on which the import VAT is recoverable, and the only route on which a rebate or a duty credit scheme can be claimed.
Business stock, and household removals into South Africa
Commercial imports are declared, assessed and released for sale or for use, with duty and VAT accounted for by the importer and the VAT recoverable where they are registered. Personal imports are treated differently, and the distinction matters.
Travellers arriving in South Africa have a duty-free allowance for general goods, with a flat-rate option above it and a ceiling on the combined value, and personal effects worn or used are outside it. A household relocation is a separate thing again, with its own treatment that has to be claimed properly rather than assumed. If your shipment is a removal rather than an import, say so before it ships.
The China forwarder and the South African clearing agent
What happens in China
Collecting from the factory or from several factories, consolidating where volume justifies it, Chinese export clearance, the verified gross mass, booking the service, issuing the bill of lading or air waybill, and tracking. We also check that the invoice, packing list and certificate describe the same goods in the same words, because vague descriptions are a common cause of a SARS query.
What happens in South Africa
A licensed clearing agent lodges the SAD 500 electronically against the importer's customs client number, classifies the goods, calculates duty on the FOB value and VAT on the Added Tax Value, answers SARS queries, and arranges release. The customs client code, the RLA migration, VAT registration, NRCS letters of authority, ICASA approvals, ITAC permits and EPR registration belong to the importer.
Goodhope works port to port on ocean freight and airport to airport on air freight, naming the terminal rather than quoting a generic estimate. We coordinate with your clearing agent and we do not pretend to do their job.
Checking a forwarder on a South Africa booking
- Have they asked whether the importer holds a live, migrated customs client code? Everything else is downstream of that.
- Which gateway — Durban, or Cape Town or Ngqura for the right consignee? It should follow the delivery address, not habit.
- Has the inland leg been quoted? For a Gauteng consignee the Durban-to-Johannesburg haul is a cost line of its own, not a rounding error.
- Has anyone looked up the MFN rate for the tariff heading? There is no agreement with China, so the rate is what the tariff book says.
- Does the product need an NRCS letter of authority or ICASA approval? If so, that is months, not days, and it gates clearance.
- Is there an anti-dumping measure on this code? Ask specifically, and check the currency of the answer.
- Are duty, VAT, the clearing fee and the inland haul shown separately? A single all-in number hides what actually moved.
Red flags: a rate quoted before you have said what the goods are; a DDP offer with no South African importer named; a quote to the port when the consignee is in Gauteng; and any suggestion of declaring a lower value, which SARS audits for as a matter of routine.
Three shipments into South Africa, and the reason for each
The examples below are illustrative. They describe typical decisions on this lane, not specific customer shipments.
Equipment that cleared in days, because the letter of authority was already in hand
A container of mains-powered equipment into Durban. The duty was modest and the file was clean, and the entry cleared quickly. What made that possible was decided months earlier: the importer had confirmed the product was regulated, obtained the letter of authority, and had the VAT registration in place to recover the import VAT. The freight was unremarkable. The preparation was the whole difference.
Clothing where the duty was larger than the freight
A container of apparel into Durban. The ocean freight had been negotiated hard and the saving was real, but the general rate on the tariff heading was high enough that duty plus VAT exceeded the freight several times over. Nobody had looked the rate up before the order was placed, and the landed cost bore no relation to the number the buyer had worked from. The fix was not a better freight rate: it was the classification review and the rebate question, asked before the next order.
A Gauteng consignment where the cheap Durban rate was not cheap
An importer in Johannesburg booked into Durban on the lowest ocean rate without pricing the inland leg, then found the haul from the coast to Gauteng approached the cost of the sea freight. On the repeat order the same cargo was routed and priced as one movement, and the comparison was made on the landed total rather than on the per-container rate. The lesson: on this lane, port to port is a third of the distance and less than half the cost.
Christmas, the Durban yard and the Transnet factor
- The pre-Christmas peak, roughly September to December, is the busiest period on the lane, running through Golden Week and the build to the South African summer season.
- Durban congestion arrives in bursts rather than as a constant, and it is worth a buffer of one to two weeks on any sea freight schedule into it.
- The summer south-easterly closes Cape Town operations for days at a time, mostly between December and March.
- Chinese New Year stops production on the Chinese end, and the weeks before it compress bookings.
- Port performance is a standing variable, because the terminals are operated nationally. Equipment shortages and berth productivity move the schedule independently of anything you control.
Check our holidays page when you are fixing a production date, and build slack into any South African delivery promise made between September and January.
What Goodhope handles on the South Africa lane
- We ask the registration question first — a live customs client code, migrated on the RLA platform, because without it nothing can be declared.
- Ocean freight port to port and air freight airport to airport — into Durban, Cape Town, Ngqura or Richards Bay by sea, and Johannesburg, Cape Town or Durban by air, with the terminal named rather than a generic estimate.
- We quote the inland leg with the freight — including the haul to the Gauteng inland terminal, because that is where the total is decided.
- We ask for the tariff heading before we quote — because there is no agreement with China, the rate is whatever the tariff book says.
- We flag the approvals calendar — NRCS letters of authority and ICASA approvals identified early, because they are measured in months and they gate clearance.
- We flag the permit question — ITAC permits for used and refurbished goods and controlled categories, checked against the heading before the cargo leaves China.
- We flag the anti-dumping exposure — checked per code rather than assumed away, because it is the one place a cheap quote turns expensive.
- Consolidation across suppliers — several factories, one container, one consistent document set. See our consolidated shipment and warehouse and consolidation pages.
- Regulated cargo handled properly — see our dangerous goods, non-DG chemicals to South Africa and quarantine inspection pages.
- Plain answers on what we do not do — the customs client code, the RLA registration, VAT registration, the SAD 500, NRCS and ICASA approvals, ITAC permits and the duty itself belong to the importer of record and their clearing agent. We coordinate with them and we do not pretend otherwise.
- NVOCC licensed, since 2012 — see our why partner with Goodhope page.
Why importers use Goodhope on this lane
Six things that are different about working with us on China to South Africa shipments.
Ask for a South Africa quote with the clearance costs named
Send us the product and its tariff heading if you have it, the carton count and total weight or volume, the FOB value, the supplier's city, and the delivery address in South Africa — including whether it is inland. We will name the gateway, price the inland leg with the freight, flag any approval or permit the product needs, tell you whether an anti-dumping measure is worth checking on your code, and show duty, VAT, clearing and delivery as separate lines.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to be registered with SARS to import into South Africa?
Yes. Every importer must be registered with the South African Revenue Service and hold a customs client code, which is the number previously known as an importer's code. Registration is done through SARS eFiling and requires a South African income tax reference and supporting entity documents. A shipment that lands before the registration is in place becomes a storage problem rather than a clearance problem, and storage at a container terminal is expensive. Most importers also appoint a licensed clearing agent, because the declaration is lodged electronically and the agent has the systems to do it.
What is the RLA platform and does it affect importers?
Registration, Licensing and Accreditation is the platform SARS has been migrating all customs and excise traders onto, and the migration is now enforced. Every importer, exporter, clearing agent and cargo reporter has to update their customs code and entity details on it. SARS has stated that no automatic extensions are granted, and a customs code that has not been migrated can be suspended, which means a container cannot be declared when it lands. If you import under your own name, confirm your code is migrated and active before you place the order.
How much duty and VAT will I pay importing from China into South Africa?
Two calculations decide the bill, and the bases are different. Customs duty is the FOB customs value multiplied by the duty rate, with freight and insurance excluded from the duty base. VAT is fifteen percent of the Added Tax Value, which is the FOB value plus a ten percent uplift plus the duty payable, and the uplift does not apply to goods originating in the SACU countries. So VAT is always more than fifteen percent of what you paid the supplier. As an illustration, goods with an FOB value of ten thousand rand at a fifteen percent duty rate give fifteen hundred rand of duty, an Added Tax Value of twelve thousand five hundred rand, and VAT of one thousand eight hundred and seventy five rand.
Is there a free trade agreement between China and South Africa?
No, and this is the single biggest difference between this lane and the Australia or New Zealand lanes. Chinese-origin goods are assessed at the general MFN rates in the South African tariff book. Those rates vary widely by product: industrial machinery is often free, electronics and IT equipment commonly run in the low single digits, while clothing, footwear and some steel products carry rates high enough to change the economics of an order entirely. Check the rate for your tariff heading before you commit, and check whether a rebate or a duty credit scheme applies to your situation.
How long does shipping from China to South Africa take?
Ocean freight from Shenzhen into Durban is commonly quoted at around twenty two to twenty eight days port to port, with Shanghai and Ningbo origins around twenty four to thirty days and longer still from Qingdao. Cape Town runs longer than Durban, and Port Elizabeth and Ngqura sit between them. LCL is commonly quoted at around four to six weeks because consolidation and deconsolidation sit on top of the sailing. Air freight into Johannesburg is around two to five days airport to airport, with Cape Town and Durban usually routed through a hub. Practitioners on this lane advise a buffer of one to two weeks on sea freight for congestion and weather.
Which port does cargo from China arrive at in South Africa?
Durban is the busiest container port in sub-Saharan Africa and handles the largest share of South African container traffic, and it is the primary gateway for Johannesburg and Pretoria. Cape Town serves the Western Cape. Ngqura at Coega serves the automotive industry and is often used as a relief port when Durban is congested. Richards Bay serves its own industrial hinterland. Johannesburg is inland, served by a container terminal there rather than by a seaport, and the road and rail haul from Durban to Gauteng is a substantial cost line in its own right.
What is an NRCS letter of authority and do I need one?
The National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications issues a Letter of Authority, or LOA, confirming that a product meets a South African compulsory specification. It is required before customs clearance for regulated electrical and electronic goods, appliances, power supplies and adaptors, LED lighting, certain automotive products and some building materials. An LOA is issued to an applicant for a specific model, and where an LOA already exists a Letter of Confirmation can be issued to a specific importer for a specific shipment, which is faster. First-time LOA timelines are commonly quoted in months, not weeks, so start before production rather than after it.
What is the SAD 500?
The SAD 500 is South Africa's single administrative document, the goods declaration lodged to clear a consignment. It is submitted electronically, normally by a licensed clearing agent, against the importer's customs client number, and it carries the tariff classification, the customs value and the duty and VAT calculation. Lodging it before the vessel arrives is what stops storage accruing. Once duty and VAT are paid and any risk assessment is complete, SARS releases the goods for home consumption and the process ends with a release note.
What permits and approvals do regulated products need in South Africa?
It depends on the product, and three bodies come up repeatedly. The NRCS issues letters of authority for regulated electrical, electronic and automotive products. ICASA requires type approval for anything that transmits radio, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and cellular. ITAC issues import permits for controlled categories, including used and second-hand goods, certain chemicals and specific steel and textile products. A product can need more than one: a Wi-Fi router plugs into mains power and transmits radio, so it can need both. Medical devices fall to SAHPRA, and electrical and electronic equipment carries extended producer responsibility obligations on the importer.
What documents does South African customs require?
A commercial invoice showing the FOB customs value and a full description, a packing list that ties to it, and a bill of lading or air waybill, plus the SAD 500 declaration lodged against a valid customs client number. Where a preferential rate is available under an agreement, a certificate of origin is required, though there is no agreement with China so Chinese goods are assessed at general rates. Depending on the product you will also need an NRCS letter of authority, ICASA type approval, an ITAC permit, or sector certificates. Vague invoice descriptions are one of the most common causes of a SARS query, and a query at Durban costs free days.