South Africa is a member of the Southern African Customs Union, a customs union of five member states that forms a single common customs area with a common external tariff. Goods moving between member states are treated differently from goods entering the union from outside it, and that distinction is the first thing to settle when planning a movement through the region.

Two different movements

Goods entered and used in South Africa follow the ordinary import procedure: registration, declaration and the duty and tax that follow from the goods and their origin. Goods that enter South Africa and then leave again for another destination follow a different route. The entry point and the final destination both matter, because the treatment attaches to the movement, not only to the goods.

Administrative treatment within the customs union is not automatically simple. A movement between member states is not the same as a movement within a single country, and the formalities still have to be satisfied. Describing a regional movement as though it were a domestic one is a common and expensive shorthand.

Transit through South Africa

A foreign entity clearing cargo for international transit through South Africa is not required to register with Customs, which distinguishes a pure transit movement from an import for use in the country. Where goods are held, stored or processed before they move on, the position is different again and has to be described accurately.

What to state in your enquiry

  • The entry point into South Africa.
  • The final destination, whether that is inside the country, elsewhere in the region or beyond it.
  • Whether the goods will be entered and used, held and moved on, or processed before continuing.
  • The commodity and how it is packed.
  • Any inspection the goods have to satisfy at a defined point in the chain.

Inspection at a defined point

Where condition, quantity or conformity has to be verified before goods are released or moved on, the inspection point should be agreed before the consignment reaches it. An inspection arranged after arrival is usually an inspection that delays the movement.

TCSA reviews the requirement and confirms what is possible, who would carry it out and at what rate before anything is commissioned. Coverage for the route is confirmed with your enquiry rather than assumed.