Rebate, refund and drawback directory

Import duties and levies are taxes imposed on goods imported into South Africa by SARS Customs.

A rebate is a full remission or part reduction of import duties, subject to whether the import qualifies for it. To claim a rebate the importer must generally be registered as a rebate user.

A drawback is a refund of Customs duty that the importer ahs already paid, subject to whether the import qualifies for it. To redeem duties in accordance with a drawback the importer must be registered as a drawback user.

A refund is a means by which importers may claim duties back if they can prove it was wrongfully imposed on them, or other circumstances specified by SARS.

Use our rebate, refund and drawback directory to determine whether any of the above mechanisms to redeem, reduce or avoid import tax applies to your import shipments.

The tariff book

The South African tariff book is broken into various schedules listing different types of taxes and mechanisms for redeeming tax.

The sections listing rebates, refunds and drawbacks are:

Schedule 3 – Rebates on tax levied on goods imported for industrial use.
Schedule 4 – Circumstantial rebates and refunds on tax levied on imported goods.
Schedule 5 – Circumstantial drawbacks and refunds on tax levied on imported goods.
Schedule 6 – Rebates and refunds on Excise tax

Your tariff code

To find certain rebates, refunds and drawbacks applicable to your import in these schedules, you will need your tariff or HS code. This is a standardised numerical code that is used to classify goods for the sake of import, export and trade statistics. You can see the structure of tariff code below.

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Your supplier will likely note the first 6 digits of you tariff code on your commercial invoice. This is the international code for your goods. The South African code will have 8 digits and a 9th check digit. If you do not have the South African tariff code(s) relevant to your imports, please consult our tariff code directory by clicking here.

If you are concerned about the accuracy of your tariff code, you can either sign up for our online training course in HS codes and tariff code determination, or get a professional tariff classification report done.

Once you have your tariff code you can consult our rebate, refund and drawback directory using the following steps:

Step 1. Check for rebates in Schedule 3

Schedule 3 is arranged according to rebate item numbers. To know whether you can claim a rebate, you must determine whether any of the rebate items listed applies to your import. Scroll down until you find the product category or industry relevant to your import.

You can also press “Control F” on our keyboard and type key words relevant to your industry into the search box that appears at the top of your screen. Here’s an example showing a search for the term “food” using a search box:

Step 2. Check for rebates and refunds in Schedule 4

Schedule 4 rebates and refunds are generally granted according to the circumstance of an import, not its tariff code. Examples of this are goods that have been imported for charitable purposes, personal belongings imported by someone immigrating to South Africa, or previously exported goods that returned to South African in the same condition as it left.

It is therefore worth reading all the rebate item headings in the schedule to determine whether any apply to the circumstances of your import.

Step 3. Check for drawbacks and refunds in Schedule 5

Schedule 5 Part 1 deals with industrial drawbacks. As in step 1 above, it is best to look for a drawback item pertaining to your industry, and to look whether your tariff heading is specified. If the circumstance and the tariff heading of your import correspond to a drawback item, you should be able to claim the drawback.

Schedule 5 Part 2 deals with refunds on goods that were imported in the same condition as it was exported, like product that were returned by a foreign buyer.

Step4. Check for rebates and refunds in Schedule 6

Schedule 6 deals with rebates of import duties and levies listed in Schedules 2,3,5 and 7. For example import duties paid on acholic, tobacco or petroleum products imported for use in local manufacturing.

Both circumstantial rebate items, and rebate items that are specific to tariff codes are listed in this Schedule. If your imports incur Excise duties listed in Schedules 2,3,5 and 7, it is worth looking at the sections in Schedule 6 relevant to your industry and specific import. If you are unsure whether these schedules list duties applicable to your imports, refer to our import duty directory.

Rebate, refund and drawback directory

The tariff book

Your tariff code

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Blog page

Rebate, refund and drawback directory

Step 1. Check for rebates in Schedule 3

Step 2. Check for rebates and refunds in Schedule 4

Step 3. Check for drawbacks and refunds in Schedule 5

Step4. Check for rebates and refunds in Schedule 6

Step 5. Register as a rebate or drawback user

Find your tariff (HS) code with our tariff code directory

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