HS Code 1509.30 — Virgin olive oil | South Africa Import & Export

Most importers still file virgin olive oil under HS 1509.10 — a code that no longer exists. HS 2022 retired the combined 1509.10 line and replaced it with four quality-graded subheadings (1509.20 / 30 / 40 / 90). File 1509.30 only if your free acidity sits between 0.8% and 2.0%.

What this HS code covers

HS 1509.30 is the South African customs subheading for virgin olive oil — oil produced from olive fruit solely by mechanical means, without solvents or refining, with a free acidity (expressed as oleic acid) of more than 0.8 g/100 g but no more than 2.0 g/100 g. Under the WCO HS 2022 nomenclature, the old combined 1509.10 line was retired and replaced by four quality-graded subheadings: 1509.20 (extra virgin, free acidity ≤ 0.8%), 1509.30 (virgin, 0.8–2.0%), 1509.40 (other virgin / lampante, > 2.0%) and 1509.90 (other — refined or blended). At the 8-digit SARS level, each of the four subheadings is split further into .10 (in aerosol containers) and .90 (other). The classification anchor is not the supplier’s commercial grade declaration — it is the free-acidity number on an accredited laboratory analytical certificate, measured against Codex Alimentarius Standard 33-1981 (SARS Schedule 1 Part 1, Chapter 15, Subheading Note 1).

South African trade picture

At the 6-digit virgin line, HS 1509.30 is a small niche. South Africa imported USD 99,084 worth of virgin olive oil — about 12 tonnes — in 2024 (UN Comtrade, reporter ZAF, HS 150930, 2024, accessed 18 May 2026). France was the largest source at 57.1% of value, followed by Italy at 30.5%, Spain at 7.2% and Portugal at 5.1%. The top five suppliers covered 99.9% of imports. France’s lead at this grade is unusual and worth explaining: at the virgin (not extra virgin) acidity band, Provence-region oils that fall on the wrong side of the 0.8% line drop into 1509.30 rather than 1509.20, which inflates France’s share of this specific subheading.

The bigger picture sits one level up. The full HS 1509 heading — covering all four virgin and refined subheadings — accounted for USD 13.67 million and 1,756 tonnes of SA imports in 2024 (UN Comtrade, reporter ZAF, HS 1509, 2024). Spain dominated at 54.3% of value, with Italy at 37.4%. Together those two suppliers accounted for 91.7% of olive oil entering South Africa last year. Greece (4.1%), Portugal (2.9%) and Turkey (0.5%) made up most of the balance. Tunisia — the world’s second-largest olive oil exporter — does not appear in the 2024 SA partner list at any level of HS 1509; Tunisian oil routes to the EU, US and MENA, not to SADC. Heading-level value fell 41% from the 2022 Spanish-drought price spike (USD 23.1m), but unit value more than doubled over the same period to USD 7.79/kg. SA importers paid more per kilogram for less oil.

Duties and VAT

The general (MFN) rate of duty on HS 1509.30 is 10% ad valorem, identical across all four 1509 subheadings and across both the .10 aerosol and .90 other 8-digit lines (SARS Schedule 1 Part 1, Chapter 15, dated 15 May 2026). VAT is charged at the standard 15% on the Added Tax Value (customs value plus a 10% upliftment under section 13(2) of the VAT Act, plus customs duty). Olive oil is not on the zero-rated basic foodstuffs list under Schedule 2 of the VAT Act, and there is no excise on Chapter 15.

The two preferences that actually move money on this commodity are the SADC-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (in provisional application from 10 October 2016, which replaced the trade chapter of the older TDCA) and the SACUM-UK EPA (in force from 1 January 2021, post-Brexit). Both deliver duty-free entry on certified EU or UK origin and account for almost all preferential clearances on this line. There are no anti-dumping or countervailing duties on HS 1509 imports as of May 2026, and no Schedule 4 rebate covers virgin olive oil.

Documents and compliance

The classification on a 1509 consignment is decided by paperwork, not by the supplier’s marketing. SARS will look for a clean documentary chain showing free acidity, origin and packaging form. For a routine virgin olive oil import you should expect to present:

• Commercial invoice (with origin declaration and EU approved-exporter number where applicable).
• Packing list.
• Bill of lading or air waybill.
• EUR.1 movement certificate, or an invoice origin declaration under the SADC-EU EPA / SACUM-UK EPA.
• Analytical certificate showing free acidity, peroxide value and K232/K268 figures from a laboratory recognised under Codex Alimentarius Standard 33-1981, IOC standard COI/T.15/NC No 3/Rev.21/2025, or EU Implementing Regulation 2022/2104.
• DALRRD import permit and Port Health release where required.
• SAD500 entry citing the correct 8-digit subheading (1509.30.10 for aerosols, 1509.30.90 for everything else).

The single most common documentary failure is an in-house supplier “QC certificate” without recognised lab accreditation — that is not sufficient for a post-clearance audit defence. The IOC publishes a list of recognised testing laboratories; in South Africa the standard reference labs are at Stellenbosch University and SGS South Africa in Cape Town.

Common mistakes

Three errors recur on this code. First, filing under the obsolete 1509.10 — that 8-digit line was retired on 1 January 2022 with no transitional grace period; SARS treats it as a misclassification and may apply a Section 88(1) penalty. Second, treating a supplier grade declaration (“extra virgin”) as evidence of classification when the lab report shows free acidity above 0.8% — your goods belong in 1509.30, and labelling them “extra virgin” on retail packaging is a separate offence under the Foodstuffs Act 54 of 1972 and R.146 of 2010. Third, rejecting a valid invoice origin declaration because it lacks an EUR.1 — under SADC-EU EPA Protocol 1 Article 19, an origin declaration on the invoice with an approved-exporter number is fully equivalent to an EUR.1 with no value ceiling. Most Spanish and Italian bulk suppliers ship this way, and refusing it costs you the preference for no reason.

How JLog handles it

JLog clears olive oil consignments into Cape Town and Johannesburg routinely. We check the lab analytical certificate against the SARS subheading note before declaration, confirm whether the goods sit in 1509.20 or 1509.30, validate the EU or UK origin proof (including approved-exporter numbers), file the SAD500 against the correct 8-digit line, and hold the documentary file for SARS post-clearance audit. Where the supplier paperwork is thin, we tell you before the container lands — not after the stop. For SA-origin olive oil being exported into the SADC region, we issue the SADC Certificate of Origin and book the road freight.

The wrong code on a 1509 SAD500 does not change the duty — it changes whether SARS believes the rest of your file.

Get a quote

Get a quote for shipping HS 1509.30: jlog.co.za/get-a-quote