Do You Need an Importer’s Code in South Africa?
Short answer: if you import in your own name, SARS expects you to be registered as an importer once you pass a modest personal allowance, and from the first shipment if you import for a business. If you import through Scott’s Shipping Services, you never need one. SSS is the importer of record on every shipment it brings in, declares the goods under its own customs code, pays the duty and VAT, and carries the customs responsibility. You receive the goods and a South African invoice.
This guide explains what an importer’s code is, who SARS requires to have one, what changed in November 2025, and why most private buyers and many small businesses are better off never applying.
In This Guide
What is an importer’s code?
An importer’s code (SARS calls it a customs client number, or CCN) is the registration number SARS issues to a person or company that brings goods into South Africa. It appears on every customs declaration and tells SARS who the importer of record is: the party legally responsible for the declaration, the tariff classification, the customs value, and the duty and VAT that follow from them.
The code itself costs nothing. What it carries is responsibility. The importer of record is the one SARS comes to if a declaration is wrong, if a valuation is queried, if goods are held for inspection, or if a permit was needed and not obtained. For a full picture of what happens between a supplier’s warehouse and your door, see our step-by-step guide to importing goods into South Africa.
Who needs an importer’s code in South Africa?
SARS draws the line between private individuals importing for their own use and anyone importing for trade.
- Private individuals importing goods for personal use may declare under a general customs code (70707070) without registering, up to an annual value limit. Once that limit is reached, SARS requires a formal customs code before any further goods can be cleared.
- Businesses and anyone importing to resell are expected to register from the outset. The personal allowance is for personal use, not for stock.
The practical consequence is that the importer’s code question arrives sooner than most people expect: one significant purchase, a few months of small ones, or the first order for a side business, and the general code is no longer available.
What is customs code 70707070, and what changed in 2025?
Customs code 70707070 is the general code SARS provides for private individuals who are not registered importers. It exists so that a South African buying a laptop from an overseas retailer does not need to register with customs first.
On 21 November 2025 SARS announced an automated rule for declarations made under this code. Private individuals may import goods under 70707070 up to a cumulative value of R150,000 per calendar year. Once that threshold is reached, further declarations under the code are rejected by the system, and the individual must apply for a formal customs code before the affected shipment can be cleared. SARS gave the reason as preventing misuse of the simplified process and keeping its compliance centres moving.
Note: the R150,000 is cumulative across the year and is counted on customs value, not on what you paid at checkout. A rejected declaration means the goods sit at the port or depot, on storage, while the registration is processed. Source: SARS notice, 21 November 2025.
The limit is generous for occasional shoppers and tight for anyone importing equipment, vehicle parts, machinery or a season’s worth of stock. It is also easy to cross without noticing, because the count is on the year, not on the parcel.
Importing for a business
If the goods are for resale, for use in a business, or are being bought by a company, the personal code is not the right instrument regardless of value. A business importing in its own name needs to register as an importer with SARS, keep that registration current, and take on the compliance that goes with it: correct tariff classification, correct valuation, permits where the tariff heading requires them, and the records SARS may ask for after the fact.
Some businesses are set up for that. Most small and medium businesses are not, and the time it takes is time not spent on the business. That is the gap SSS was built to fill. Our guide to importing goods for your business in South Africa covers what the managed route looks like from a business buyer’s side.
How to apply, if you decide to
Registration is done electronically through SARS’s Registration, Licensing and Accreditation (RLA) system on eFiling. In outline: you need an active SARS tax profile, the entity’s registration and identity documents, proof of address and banking details, and you apply for the importer client type under RLA. Processing times vary. Once issued, the code must be quoted on every declaration and the registration must be maintained.
We are not going to walk you through the forms here, for a simple reason: for most people reading this page, the better answer is not to register at all.
The alternative: SSS as importer of record
Scott’s Shipping Services imports goods on behalf of its customers as the importer of record. That is not a courier arrangement where the goods are still declared in your name; SSS is the party on the customs declaration.
In practice this means:
- You never apply for anything. No RLA registration, no customs code, no annual threshold to track.
- SSS makes the declaration under its own customs code, classifies the goods under the correct tariff heading and declares the customs value.
- SSS pays the duty and VAT to SARS and carries the responsibility for the declaration being right. If customs has a question, it is SSS’s question.
- You get one price in rands before you commit, covering the purchase, international courier or freight, clearance, duty, VAT and delivery to your door. How duty is calculated is explained in how customs value is determined in South Africa; with SSS, the result is already in the quote.
- You receive a South African tax invoice from SSS for the whole amount, which is simpler for a business’s books than a foreign supplier invoice plus a separate customs account.
This applies across the service, from a single AliExpress order by courier to air and sea freight consignments from a factory. For freight there is a second benefit: because SSS proves export from the supplier’s country, the supplier can zero-rate the sale, so the source country’s sales tax is removed from the price rather than being paid twice.
Which route suits you?
| Situation | Importing in your own name | Through SSS as importer of record |
|---|---|---|
| Occasional personal purchases, well under R150,000 a year | Code 70707070, duty and VAT billed on arrival | One upfront price, courier to your door |
| Personal purchases approaching or over R150,000 a year | Must register with SARS before further clearances | No registration; threshold does not apply to you |
| Any purchase for a business | Register as an importer, maintain compliance | No registration; SSS declares, pays and invoices you |
| Equipment, machinery, vehicle parts, freight consignments | Registration plus permits and classification are on you | SSS classifies, obtains what is needed and quotes one rand figure |
If you already hold an importer’s code and have a clearing agent you trust, you may not need SSS. If you do not, or you would rather the responsibility sat with a South African company that does this every day, the managed route removes the question entirely.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an importer’s code to buy from overseas online stores?
Not for personal purchases under the SARS annual allowance: private individuals can declare under customs code 70707070 up to a cumulative R150,000 per calendar year. Above that, or for any business purchase, SARS requires a formal customs code. If you order through Scott’s Shipping Services you never need one, because SSS is the importer of record.
What is customs code 70707070?
It is the general customs code SARS provides for private individuals who are not registered importers, so they can bring in goods for personal use without registering. Since 21 November 2025, declarations under this code are automatically rejected once the individual’s cumulative imports for the calendar year exceed R150,000.
Does a business need an importer’s code in South Africa?
Yes, if the business imports in its own name. Goods for resale or business use fall outside the personal allowance, so the business must register with SARS as an importer and maintain that registration. A business that imports through Scott’s Shipping Services does not need to register, because SSS declares the goods under its own code and invoices the business in rands.
What does importer of record mean?
The importer of record is the party named on the customs declaration and legally responsible for it: the tariff classification, the customs value, any permits, and the duty and VAT. When Scott’s Shipping Services imports on your behalf, SSS is the importer of record and carries that responsibility. You are the customer, not the importer.
How much does an importer’s code cost?
SARS does not charge for the registration itself. The cost is in the time to apply, the ongoing compliance, and the responsibility for every declaration made under the code. Importing through Scott’s Shipping Services removes all three, and the clearance is already included in the single price you are quoted.
Can Scott’s Shipping Services import freight without me having an importer’s code?
Yes. Air and sea freight consignments are imported with SSS as the importer of record in exactly the same way as courier parcels. The quote covers purchase, freight, customs clearance, duty, VAT and delivery to your premises as one rand figure. Because SSS proves export from the supplier’s country, the supplier can zero-rate the sale, so source-country sales tax is removed from the price.
Ready to import without the paperwork?
Send us the supplier details or product links. You get one all-inclusive price, SSS as the importer of record, and delivery to your door. For parcels under 30 kg use the quick estimate; for anything larger, request a freight quote.
Planning your next import? Use our online calculator for a quick estimate, or get in touch for advice on your shipment.
