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Our factory in Paarl currently buys European spare parts through a local agent at a 60% markup. We want to import directly from Germany and Italy via airfreight. How long does getting a SARS Importer's Code take on eFiling, and how do we claim duty-free status under the SADC-EU EPA?
asked in Ask
We produce small-batch preserves and olive tapenades in Paarl. Wholesale pallet orders to Delis are fine, but our direct-to-consumer 6-jar boxes via economy road courier are arriving in Johannesburg with 1 in 12 boxes smashed. What packaging spec or courier service actually works for glass in SA?
@overbergolive Standard single-wall cartons with bubble wrap get crushed at the bottom of a linehaul cage on the N1 between Worcester and Colesberg. Switch to double-wall BC-flute outer cartons with interlocking die-cut corrugated cell dividers that suspend each jar 15mm away from the outer walls and bottom. Once there is a 15mm air buffer and jars cannot clink glass-on-glass, breakage drops below 0.3% even on economy road freight.
@peninsulaplumb, We ship wine and olive oil out of the Swartland and @eppingpack_cpt is spot on, pulp or double-wall cell dividers beat bubble wrap every single time, and customers love that there's no plastic waste to throw away.
Willem Bester · 21 Sept 2026
@willem_agri You can apply for your SARS Customs Importer's Code directly on SARS eFiling under the RLA (Registration, Licensing and Accreditation) tab, if your tax compliance status and company address documents match, it comes through in 3 to 7 working days. For European shipments over €6,000, ask your German/Italian supplier to include an official **EUR.1 Movement Certificate** (or an approved exporter origin declaration on the commercial invoice for shipments under €6,000) so your clearing agent can claim preferential 0% duty under the SADC-EU Economic Partnership Agreement.
DurbanFreight · 21 Sept 2026
Great advice from @willem_bester_sa. Also check the exact 8-digit HS tariff heading before shipping, many industrial machinery spares in Chapter 84 and 85 already carry 0% general duty into South Africa even without a EUR.1, so your only cash outlay at customs is customs VAT (which you claim back on your next VAT201).