The first decision: who is the importer of record?
Before any registration, permit or tariff question, a foreign business selling goods into South Africa must decide whose name goes on the customs declaration — the importer of record. That choice drives everything downstream: which entity registers with SARS (the South African Revenue Service), who pays and can recover import VAT, and who carries the compliance risk. There are three realistic routes. Figures on this page were last reviewed 16 July 2026.
| Route | Customs position | Trade-offs |
|---|---|---|
| Your South African subsidiary imports | The subsidiary registers on RLA and imports in its own name. | Full control of the supply chain, margin and customer relationships; import VAT sits inside your own VAT registration. Requires entity setup, banking and the post-incorporation registration stack. |
| The foreign company registers directly | Permitted — but a foreign principal not located in South Africa must first nominate a South African-located registered agent, who assumes liability for its customs obligations. | No local entity needed. The agent (usually a clearing agent or the local distributor) prices that liability into its fees, and banking and VAT frictions remain offshore problems. |
| Sell to a local distributor | The distributor is the importer of record in its own name. | Simplest market entry — no South African registration at all. You give up margin and control, so the distribution agreement carries the weight. |
A persistent misconception is that you must incorporate locally before you can trade. That is false: contracts work cross-border, and customs law expressly accommodates a foreign importer through the registered-agent route. Local incorporation is usually driven by tax, banking, licensing or procurement instead — weigh it properly in subsidiary vs branch. Whether your wider South African activities separately require registering as an external company under the Companies Act is its own question — importing alone is a different analysis from conducting business here.
If you choose the distributor route, put the effort into the contract: governing law, exclusivity, minimum purchase obligations and exit terms — see contracts and dispute resolution. And if your goods reach South African consumers, factor in the Consumer Protection Act, whose product-liability net reaches importers and distributors, not just retailers.
Registering with SARS customs: the RLA system
Customs registration is governed by section 59A of the Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964 and its rules. Since SARS modernised the process, registration runs through RLA — Registration, Licensing and Accreditation — an online workflow inside the SARS eFiling platform. The output is a customs client code: an importer code, an exporter code, or both.
The sequence for a foreign group looks like this:
- Choose the importer of record (above). If it is your South African subsidiary, the customs code slots into the same post-incorporation stack as income tax, PAYE and VAT — see tax and employer registrations.
- If the foreign entity itself will import or export, nominate a South African-located registered agent first — the agent accepts the nomination on RLA before the foreign principal’s registration proceeds.
- Apply on RLA via eFiling for the importer and/or exporter registration, with the entity’s incorporation and representative documents.
- Appoint a licensed clearing agent to lodge declarations, unless you intend to clear your own goods — almost no new entrant does.
The registered-agent rule: someone local must carry the liability
The registered-agent requirement is the piece of South African customs law foreign boards most often miss. A foreign principal — an importer or exporter not located in South Africa — may hold a customs code, but only through a nominated agent located in South Africa, and the agent does not merely handle paperwork. SARS puts the point bluntly: the registered agent —
[i]s liable for the fulfilment of all obligations imposed on either the importer, exporter or licensed remover.
Note — The bracketed “[i]s” marks a capitalisation change only — the words are otherwise exactly as SARS publishes them. The same requirement is repeated on the SARS Importers registration page.
That single sentence explains the commercial dynamics. The agent — in practice usually your clearing agent or local distributor, though the registered-agent appointment is a separate SARS registration the firm must formally accept, not something that follows automatically from holding a clearing-agent licence — stands in for the foreign principal on duties, VAT, penalties and compliance, so reputable agents vet foreign principals carefully, demand indemnities and security, and charge for the exposure. It also explains why the direct-registration route tends to suit low-volume or exploratory trade: once volumes are meaningful, most groups migrate the importer-of-record role into their own subsidiary rather than keep paying to occupy someone else’s balance sheet.
Two practical notes. First, the nomination is formal — the agent accepts it on RLA; an informal arrangement with a freight forwarder is not the same thing. Second, the rule cuts both ways: it applies to foreign exporters from South Africa as well as importers, which matters for groups that buy South African goods for export without any local presence.
ITAC import permits: used goods and controlled lines
Separately from SARS registration, some goods need a permit before they may be imported at all. Import control is administered by ITAC — the International Trade Administration Commission — under the International Trade Administration Act 71 of 2002 and the Import Control Regulations. The headline rules:
- All used and second-hand goods need an import permit — including refurbished machinery and equipment — as do waste and scrap.
- A defined list of controlled tariff lines needs permits even for new goods. ITAC’s own guidance has put the number at around 276 of roughly 6,650 tariff lines, with an average turnaround of three to five working days — but those figures come from ITAC’s FAQ material, ITAC has warned of processing delays, and we could not confirm them against the live position as at 16 July 2026. Check the current import-control list for your HS codes before shipping.
- Permits must be in hand before shipment — a permit cannot cure goods already on the water.
On cost: permits have historically been free of charge. An administrative fee is being phased in — ITAC’s Notice 3194 of 2025 under the 2024 Administrative Fees Regulations proposed R339 per import or export permit, with implementation starting elsewhere in ITAC’s portfolio — but the live fee position for ordinary permits was unconfirmed as at 16 July 2026. Budget for the fee and confirm when you apply.
Duties, valuation and tariff classification
Customs duty on any import is a function of two variables: what the goods are (classification) and what they are worth (valuation).
Classification
Goods are classified under the international Harmonized System (HS) code, and the duty rate for each code is read off Schedule 1 to the Customs and Excise Act. Schedule 1 is the common external tariff of SACU — the Southern African Customs Union of South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and eSwatini — so the same duty applies at any SACU border. Classification is where most duty disputes start: an adjacent HS code can mean a materially different rate, and the importer of record carries the risk of getting it wrong.
Valuation
South Africa applies the WTO valuation rules through sections 65 to 67 of the Act: duty is assessed on the transaction value — broadly, the price actually paid or payable for the goods — with prescribed adjustments. Related-party pricing gets attention here for the same reasons it does in tax: if the group’s intercompany price is not arm’s length, customs can substitute a value, which is one more reason transfer-pricing and customs positions should be set together.
In practice a licensed clearing agent lodges the declarations, and established importers set up a deferment account so duties and import VAT are settled periodically rather than shipment by shipment.
Import VAT: the added-tax-value formula
VAT — value-added tax — is levied on imported goods under the Value-Added Tax Act 89 of 1991 at the standard rate of 15%, but on an uplifted base called the added tax value (ATV), not on the invoice price:
- the customs value (transaction value, above);
- plus a 10% uplift on that customs value — except for goods originating in the BLNS countries (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and eSwatini, South Africa’s SACU partners), where the uplift does not apply;
- plus the customs duties payable on the goods.
VAT at 15% is then charged on that total. The uplift routinely surprises overseas CFOs modelling landed cost: even on a duty-free line, import VAT is charged at 15% of the customs value plus the 10% uplift — not of the invoice price.
Whether the import VAT is a real cost or a cash-flow item depends on who the importer of record is and whether that entity is a registered VAT vendor able to recover it as input tax — one of the strongest arguments for importing through your own subsidiary at scale. Registration thresholds, the non-resident rules and deferment of import VAT are covered in VAT for foreign companies.
Trade agreements: where South Africa gives you preferential access
South Africa trades under a stack of preferential agreements. Each can cut the Schedule 1 duty — sometimes to nil — if the goods qualify under the relevant rules of origin and travel with the right proof (EUR.1 movement certificates or origin declarations for the European agreements; AfCFTA certificates of origin for qualifying African trade):
- SADC — the Southern African Development Community free trade area, covering most of the region’s trade.
- SACUM–EU EPA — the economic partnership agreement between the SACU states plus Mozambique and the European Union, provisionally applied since October 2016.
- SACUM–UK EPA — the equivalent United Kingdom agreement, in effect since 1 January 2021.
- AfCFTA — the African Continental Free Trade Area. South Africa has traded preferentially under it since 31 January 2024, and a further round of South African tariff phase-downs took effect on 1 January 2026.
- AGOA — the United States’ African Growth and Opportunity Act preference for exports to the US. AGOA lapsed on 30 September 2025 and was then renewed retroactively through 31 December 2026 (renewal signed 3 February 2026), with South Africa still a beneficiary. Its fate beyond 2026 is unresolved.
The US tariff position — read with the date in mind
Position as at 16 July 2026 — this is moving fast; re-verify before you price anything for the US market. The 50% Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminium remain in place. The 30% “reciprocal” tariff under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) on South African goods was struck down by the US Supreme Court on 20 February 2026 (Learning Resources v Trump) and terminated on 24 February 2026. A global 10% Section 122 surcharge replaced it from 24 February 2026; it expires by operation of law on or about 24 July 2026 — days after this page’s review date — and was itself struck down by the US Court of International Trade on 7 May 2026, though that ruling is stayed on appeal, so the surcharge was still being collected. A Section 301 investigation was ongoing, with a proposed additional 12.5% tariff on South African goods and hearings held 7–9 July 2026. Treat any US landed-cost model as provisional, and stamp it with the date you built it.
Exporting from South Africa: three things to know
Registration mirrors importing. Exporters register on RLA for an exporter code, and a foreign exporter without a South African location needs a registered agent in exactly the same way — the SARS liability wording quoted above covers “the importer, exporter or licensed remover” alike. Preferential access into the EU, UK, SADC and AfCFTA markets depends on origin paperwork, so build the certificate workflow into dispatch, not as an afterthought.
Export proceeds must come home through the banking system. South African exchange-control rules govern how export proceeds are received and accounted for through an Authorised Dealer bank — covered in exchange control for foreign investors and worth reading alongside opening a South African business bank account.
Selling to the state is a different game. Public procurement carries local-content and empowerment dimensions: the position on local-content designations is in flux — the 2022 Preferential Procurement Regulations dropped the old designation machinery, and the Public Procurement Act 28 of 2024, which will re-anchor designations, was not yet in force as at 16 July 2026 — so check the live tender rules before bidding, and read B-BBEE for foreign companies for the scorecard side.
Frequently asked questions
More market-entry questions are answered in the Doing Business in South Africa FAQ.
Yes. A foreign importer can register with SARS customs, but it must nominate a South African-located registered agent who assumes liability for its customs obligations. Most foreign groups therefore either appoint their clearing agent or distributor as registered agent, or register a local subsidiary as importer of record instead — see subsidiary vs branch. Local incorporation is usually driven by tax, banking, licensing or procurement considerations — not by any customs rule.
Two layers. First, every importer needs a SARS customs code — obtained by registering on the Registration, Licensing and Accreditation (RLA) system under the Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964. Second, most new goods need no import permit at all, but controlled goods — including all used and second-hand goods, and waste and scrap — need an ITAC import permit under the International Trade Administration Act 71 of 2002 before shipment. Sector regulators can add their own product-specific requirements on top.
Yes — all used and second-hand goods require an ITAC import permit, whatever the tariff line. That includes refurbished machinery and equipment. Apply before the goods are shipped. Permits have historically been free of charge; ITAC is phasing in administrative fees (a proposed R339 per permit under Notice 3194 of 2025), but the live fee position was unconfirmed as at 16 July 2026 — check with ITAC when you apply.
Three steps. Classify the goods under the Harmonized System (HS) code; read the duty rate for that code off Schedule 1 to the Customs and Excise Act (the Southern African Customs Union common external tariff); then check for a preference under SADC, the EU or UK economic partnership agreements, or AfCFTA — preferential rates require proof of origin. Import VAT of 15% is then charged on the customs value plus a 10% uplift plus the duties. A licensed clearing agent will run this for you, but the importer carries the risk of a wrong classification.
Yes, as at 16 July 2026. AGOA lapsed on 30 September 2025 but was renewed retroactively through 31 December 2026 (renewal signed 3 February 2026), with South Africa still an eligible beneficiary. The wider US picture is volatile — surcharges and a proposed Section 301 tariff sit alongside the preference, and renewal beyond 2026 is unresolved — so verify the live position before committing to US-market pricing.
Everything. SARS states that the registered agent is liable for the fulfilment of all obligations imposed on either the importer, exporter or licensed remover. In other words, the agent stands in the foreign principal’s shoes for duties, VAT, penalties and compliance. That is why agents vet foreign principals carefully and price the risk into their fees — and why, at meaningful volumes, importing through your own South African subsidiary is usually cleaner than renting someone else’s balance sheet.
This guide states the position as at 16 July 2026. It is general information, not legal advice — customs, permit and trade-preference outcomes turn on your goods, volumes and structure, and the US measures in particular were changing weekly at the time of writing. Take advice on your facts before you ship.