South Africa: China opens its market, SARS issues origin certificates
Since 1 May 2026, China has applied a two-year zero-tariff regime on goods of South African origin entering its territory. The South African Revenue Service (SARS) put in place, from 1 June 2026, the certificate-of-origin scheme allowing South African exporters to benefit from it, including retroactively.
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China's zero-tariff preference regime for South Africa took effect on 1 May 2026 and remains applicable until 30 April 2028. It rests on the rules set out in section 46A of South Africa's Customs and Excise Act of 1964, which governs the issuing of certificates of origin for goods exported to China. According to SARS, almost all products are covered by the zero rate, subject to tariff rate quotas applicable to certain specific products.
It is exporters, not importers, who must obtain the certificate of origin for their goods to benefit from the regime: form SC-RO-02-A02 must be filed with one of the nine authorised South African customs offices, and the certificate's reference details must appear on the SAD 500 declaration. Goods must in principle be shipped directly to China; in the case of transit, they must remain under customs control, without processing, for a maximum of six months.
SARS has been issuing certificates since 1 June 2026, including retroactively for goods already shipped since 1 May 2026: these retroactive certificates remain valid for one year from the shipment date.
The scheme concerns South African companies exporting to China, not South African importers of Chinese goods: the customs duties and VAT applicable to Chinese products entering South Africa remain governed by the South African customs tariff and by trade remedy measures in force, such as anti-dumping duties (see our separate news item on Chinese steel).
What it changes for an importer
This regime does nothing to reduce the cost of importing Chinese goods into South Africa: it only concerns the opposite direction, South African exports to China. Its relevance for a Sorva client based in South Africa lies mainly in what it shows: China is building an increasingly dense documentary infrastructure (rules of origin, certificates) with the continent, which could, over time, come with easier trade in both directions. A client also considering exporting to China, or transiting locally processed goods, can inquire with SARS about this scheme; Sorva remains focused on sourcing and importing from China, but can point a client to the right SARS resources for this export side.
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