Customs

The South African Revenue Service (Sars) has released its Reference Guide – Duty-Free Allowances for Travellers dated 15 April 2011.
According to Sars this Guide will enable the traveller to identify whether they are within the traveller allowances and provide them with information on the assessment method they can expect.
The Guide includes:
• An overview of the requirements when entering/leaving the country;
• An explanation of the conditions under which goods may be brought into the country;
• Traveller allowances;
• Thresholds imposed on allowances;
• Treatment of goods exceeding allowances; and
• Payment of duties and taxes.
The Guide excludes:
• Refund procedure due to the over-payment of duty and VAT (SC-DT-C-13);
• The VAT Refund Administrators (VRA) process (SC-DT-C-16);
• ATA Carnet and CPD Carnet clearance procedures (SC-TA-01-04 and SC-TA-01-06);
• Excess Currency (SC-PA-01-06);
• The prohibited and restricted goods list which is available on the Sars website; and
• The requirements from other governmental bodies regarding the importation of goods into the country e.g. Cross Border Road Transport Agency (CBRTA), International Trade Administration