Customs and Excise

Welcome to Customs & Excise

SARS’s Customs division plays an integral role in facilitating the movement of goods and people entering or exiting the borders of the Republic. See the Customs Branch contact details or if you need to escalate beyond branch offices, please email [email protected].

The Excise division facilitates the levying of duties on certain locally manufactured goods as well as on their imported equivalents.

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Primary Legislation
- Customs and Excise Act, 1964
Secondary Legislation
- Rule Amendments
- Tariff Amendments
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What’s New in Customs?

4 December 2025 – Updated Prohibited and Restricted Imports and Exports list

The Prohibited and Restricted Imports and Exports list has been updated: Tariff code 9018.50 does not need a letter of Authority from NRCS.

21 November 2025 – Notice – Importers declaring goods under customs code 70707070

SARS wishes to announce an important change regarding the processing of eCommerce import declarations by SARS. This measure is designed to ensure compliance with customs legislation, prevent misuse of the simplified import process, and support efficient processing at Compliance Centres. Therefore, effective from 18h00 on 20 November 2025, SARS implemented a new automated validation and rejection rule for import declarations submitted by private individuals using Customs Code 70707070. If the cumulative value of imports under this code exceeds R150,000 per calendar year, any further declarations will be automatically rejected.

Key Points:

- Private individuals may import goods using Customs Code 70707070 up to a total value of R150,000 per year.
- Once this threshold is reached, additional declarations under this code will be rejected by the system.
- The individual must first apply electronically for a formal Customs Code and thereafter submit a new declaration for the affected shipment.

For more information, see the letter to stakeholders.

11 November 2025 – Calculation of national currencies for the trade agreements:
7 November 2025 – Launch of the 2025 Maseru Bridge and Ficksburg Bridge Time Release Study
The formal launch of the South Africa and Lesotho Time Release Study (TRS) took place on 6 November 2025, at the Victory Hall in Maseru, Lesotho. This collaborative, cross-border initiative, spearheaded by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and the Revenue Service Lesotho (RSL), represents a rigorous diagnostic assessment of trade efficiency along the Maseru Bridge and Ficksburg Bridge corridors. The key finding is a critical paradox: while internal Customs system processing (Mark for Arrival to Mark for Exit) is remarkably swift (averaging eight to 19 minutes), the overall end-to-end time experienced by the trade community is unacceptably excessive (ranging up to two hours). This disparity proves that the primary barriers to trade facilitation are not technological but are rooted in systemic control gaps, procedural non-compliance, and infrastructure deficiencies, necessitating urgent and comprehensive governance reform.
7 August 2025 – Report a Customs Crime

SARS is providing a platform for our stakeholders and public at large to report any unethical behaviour, corruption or suspicious activity in Customs. In the Customs Integrity Perception Survey, the feedback was that there is no action to the cases reported. So, cases reported here will be monitored to ensure that there is not only action but also feedback to the people who reported. These reports can relate to any stage in the Customs value chain. Three days after receipt of the complaint/ report, Customs &E Excise will contact the reporter and give feedback – [email protected].
10 June 2025 – Update your Customs profile to avoid suspension

In upholding and supporting seamless cross-border trade, SARS requires all Customs and Excise registrants to update their profiles on the Registration, Licensing, and Accreditation (RLA) system. For more information, see the letter to Trade.
20 March 2025 – Intention of the SARS Commissioner to formally withdraw all concessions
The Commissioner of SARS is aware that certain clients and traders are continuing to operate their businesses and, specifically, certain requirements as outlined in the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (the Act), under the auspices of certain concessions (deviations, agreements, or special allowances) that have been granted in the past by Customs and Excise Offices. These practices have been reviewed in the past and it is now the intention of the SARS Commissioner to formally withdraw all concessions on which certain clients are relying on. For more information, see the letter to Trade.
19 March 2025 – Invoice details on customs declarations
Following a period of engagement, development, and testing with industry and technical service providers, SARS requests that trade now include invoice data in all electronic customs declarations submitted to SARS. As of 1 April 2025, customs declarations not containing invoice data will have an increased probability of being selected for documentary inspection or audit, and of such declarants being requested to upload invoices as supporting documentation. See the letter to Trade.

What’s New in Excise?

18 July 2025 – Updated Air Passenger Tax guide
The new features designed to streamline online registration, return submission and overall management of Air Passenger Tax (APT) process were implemented on 30 June 2025.
The Air Passenger Tax guide has been updated to include detailed guidance for converting Excel files into CSV files.
For more information, see the Air Passenger Tax webpage
1 July 2025 – Air Passenger Tax (APT) Modernisation 2C

The Air Passenger Tax (APT) Modernisation 2C has been launched as part of the Customs Modernisation Programme (CMP). This phase introduces new features designed to streamline online registration and return submission and management of APT operations in handling airline operators. The penalty guideline has been updated only for APT contraventions at this stage.

The eFiling system has been enhanced to allow for the following:

- Uploading of passenger manifests by airline operators;
- Operators to make payments through the Letter of Demand payment link and
- Updating of registration details of the airline operators.

For more information, see the Air Passenger Tax webpage.

4 June 2025 – Increase in Fuel Levy from 4 June 2025

Amendment to Part 5A of Schedule No. 1, by an increase of 16c/li in the rate of the general fuel levy for petrol from 385c/li to 401c/li and 15c/li for diesel from 370c/li to 385c/li, respectively as well as the substitution of Note 8 to give effect to the Budget proposals announced by the Minister of Finance on 21 May 2025: Notice R.6275.
Amendment to Part 3 of Schedule No. 6, as a consequence of the increase in the general fuel levy as announced by the Minister of Finance in his budget speech on 21 May 2025; the diesel refund provisions are adjusted accordingly: Notice R.6276.

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