Advance Import Payments

An “Advance Payment Notice” or “APN” is a notice of the intention to apply to an authorised dealer in foreign exchange and currency to make an advance foreign exchange payment, in excess of R100 000.00 (One Hundred Thousand Rands), in respect of goods to be imported into the Republic of South Africa.
These payments relate to Balance of Payment (BOP) category 101, sub-categories 01-10, but exclude payments made in terms of an import undertaking.

The purpose of Advance Payment Notices is to enable SARS, Authorised Dealers, and legitimate traders to work together to combat Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), Customs under/overvaluation and Customs Fraud.

The importer concerned, or the entity who will be financing the payment.

Yes, you must be registered with SARS as an eFiling user and as an importer.

The Registration, Licensing and Accreditation (RLA) webpage can be accessed via Registration, Licensing and Accreditation | South African Revenue Service (sars.gov.za) in order to access various guides for this process, including the Custom Trader Portal External Guide. RLA-specific queries can also be emailed [email protected] .

An APN must be applied for and obtained from SARS via the SARS eFiling service.

An APN must be made electronically using the SARS eFiling service, which serves as the administration centre for processing and recording Advanced Payment Notifications. Please refer to the user guide published on the Advance Import Payment webpage of the SARS website for more detailed information.

An APN must be made before an application is submitted to an authorised dealer to affect an advance foreign exchange payment, or before such a payment is made by the Authorised Dealer (AD) in terms of a financial instrument (e.g., Letter of Credit).

You will receive a unique SARS-generated APN reference number in relation to that intended payment.

The APN reference will be available immediately on successful submission of the notice, provided all required information is correctly provided.

APN reference numbers are provided immediately on submission of an advance payment notification, so there should be no delays to payment or shipment. Furthermore, APNs can be made at any time, and from anywhere, using eFiling. With effect from 1 December 2023, authorised dealers will also be permitted to issue Bank Generated APN Numbers (BGAs) in certain exceptional circumstances to limit any delays. The use of a Bank Generated APN (BGA) to manage specific exceptions as agreed with SARS has also been legislated and conditions therefore have been specified. Enquiries should be made to your Authorised Dealer for their consideration of circumstances.

It is mandatory for all importers to apply for an Advance Payment Notification (APN) number from SARS for each advance import payment
with a value of R100 000,00 (One Hundred Thousand Rands) and above, and where the balance of payment (BOP) category code is 101, sub-categories 01-10.
Furthermore, with effect from 01 December 2023, authorised dealers (banks) are obligated to record, validate and report the APN provided by a trader/importer to the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) when such payment is concluded. This means that AD’s will only make Advance Import Payments on confirmation of a valid SARS APN.

Please contact the SARS Contact Centre on 0800 00 7277 for assistance.

Yes. For matching purposes, when submitting an import bill of entry for goods that have been assigned an APN reference number, the importer must capture the APN reference number in the Additional Info field (44) of the bill of entry.
Note: The applicable APN reference number must be entered against each relevant line item on the SAD500 to ensure accurate system assessment and prevent value mismatches.
For further guidance, please refer to SC-CF-55-A01 – Completion of Declarations – External Annex (updated with AIP information in December 2021).
You may also consult the external policy and user guide available on the Advance Import Payment webpage on the SARS website for additional information.

An APN is required for each advanced import payment, even if multiple payments are for the same consignment.

An APN is required for each advanced payment above the R100 000.00 (One Hundred Thousand Rands) threshold. When requesting APN reference numbers for the subsequent transactions following the first (Primary) APN, the primary APN should be selected from the dropdown in the field ‘Related APN Reference’. The APN to be endorsed on the SAD 500 will be that first (Primary) APN ONLY as it will contain the linked payment information. As noted previously, it should be endorsed on all relevant line/items of the SAD500 in the Additional Info field to ensure correct matching of values.

Only payments that are made before goods are cleared are classified and processed as advanced payments. Payments made for goods already imported and cleared are made utilising a different BOP code (103) and thus do not require an APN.

You must amend the APN with the correct information once the error has been identified and after confirming that the related payment has not yet been transferred by the authorised dealer. Amendments may only be made before payment and within the 30-day period prior to expiry.

You must cancel your previously submitted APN notice. The APN will also automatically lapse if no payment is made by the authorised dealer indicated on the notification within 30 days of the date thereof.

At this stage, yes. However, it is envisaged that other Balance of Payment (BOP) categories may be added in the future. If that is the case, SARS will communicate such changes to Traders accordingly.

Please send your APN related query by email to [email protected]. Please note that queries relating to RLA Onboarding, eFiling rights, registered representative, profile merging, etc. should be directed to the SARS Contact Centre on 0800 00 7277 for further assistance.

Within Rule 123.13 in the Rules to the Customs and Excise Act No 91 of 1964, as amended.