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South African Revenue Service - Customs Tariffs
Customs Tariffs are the tariff codes nominated by the Customs Department to each and every different moveable product imported or exported. South African Customs have adopted what is known as the Harmonized System which is a uniform system also utilized by approximately sixty other nations.
The Customs Tariff Classification of a product is applied in terms of legal principles of tariff interpretation and determines the rate of duty applicable, when imported into South Africa Due to advanced technology and the increasing number of new and sophisticated products being traded internationally, the classification of products under their correct tariff headings have also become more complex.
Importers and Exporters in general do not have the required technical knowledge of the customs tariff to classify their goods correctly, resulting in incorrect payments, which could lead to severe penalties being imposed by the Customs Authorities.
An incorrect tariff classification may have serious financial implications for the manufacturer, importer or exporter.
Penalties for underpayment of duties may be applied as follows:
- Customs can collect all underpayments on any incorrectly classified goods for up to a period of two years on previous shipments.
- Impose a fine which may amount to as much as three times the value of the goods for all incorrectly classified goods up to a period two years on previous shipments,
- Seize the goods and demand forfeiture,
- Penal Imprisonment.
Or a combination of all of the above.
Overpayments of duties
Overpayment of duties will result in financial loss to the importer and loss of market due to overpricing of his product.
These unpleasant situations can be avoided and we offers our expertise to obtain correct tariff determinations, from The South African Revenue Services – Customs and Excise.
We also offer our expertise to confirm if the tariff codes currently being used by an importer are correct. This information is provided free of charge but obviously subject to confirmation by customs.
Where it is proven that an importer has overpaid their customs duties we provide a Customs Duty Refund Application Service whereby we will recover such overpayments from Customs.
In this regard, we will conduct, a full investigation of your tariffs for previous shipments and both overpayments and underpayments. A negotiated fee will only be payable on successful recovery of duties overpaid.
It is critical that importers and exporters have their products classified correctly and we invite you to make contact with us for an evaluation.