South African customs runs on a thicket of three- and four-letter form codes — SAD500, DA65, DA260, DA179 — that are perfectly clear once you know what they do. This guide explains every common form in plain English, and the picker below names the exact one for your situation.
Last updated: 23 May 2026 · Written by the JLog Customs & Excise Desk
Almost every commercial import or export in South Africa runs on a single SARS form: the SAD500 (Bill of Entry). Other forms attach to it for specific situations — a DA65 if you're sending goods out temporarily and want them back duty-free, a DA66 to claim back duty you overpaid, a DA260 if you run a licensed excise warehouse, a DA179 for the sugar tax, a DA180 for carbon tax. Permits like ITAC, NRCS, Agriculture certificates and ATA Carnets are NOT SARS forms — they're issued by other bodies but SARS won't clear your goods without them.
Answer two or three quick questions. The picker names the exact form, in plain language — what it does, where to submit it, and whether customs must stamp it.
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This trips up most first-time importers. A SARS customs or excise form (SAD500, DA65, DA260, etc.) is the document SARS itself requires — the declaration, the registration, the account or the refund claim. Permits and certificates required for controlled, regulated or specialist goods are issued by other bodies entirely. SARS checks them at clearance, but doesn't issue them. If a permit is missing, your goods don't move — and you'll be reading two sets of rules.
Issues every form in the SAD / DA / DL / VAT series — the master declarations, the excise accounts, the environmental levy returns, and the refund applications.
Issues import and export permits for used goods, certain chemicals, scrap, fuels and other controlled tariff codes. A DTIC body, not SARS.
Issues the Letter of Authority (LOA) for products under a compulsory specification — much consumer electronics, appliances, certain processed foods.
Issues sanitary and phytosanitary certificates for animal and plant products — meat, poultry, hides, honey, plants — and the ISPM-15 mark for wooden packaging.
Issues ATA Carnets — the international 'customs passport' for temporary movement of artwork, samples and professional equipment.
Requires the Dangerous Goods Declaration (IATA for air, IMDG for sea) — a transport-safety document, not a SARS clearance form, but mandatory before they will load.
The SAD500 is the master South African customs declaration — the "Bill of Entry" — that tells SARS what is being imported or exported, its value, origin and tariff (HS) code.
Almost every commercial shipment in or out of South Africa is declared on a SAD500, and it is submitted electronically to SARS by a registered clearing agent. Permits, certificates and supporting forms all attach to it.
A DA65 is the SARS form you use to register commercial goods that are being sent OUT of South Africa temporarily — for repair, processing, or an exhibition — so you can prove the same goods on the way back and avoid paying import duty twice.
The critical detail is that the DA65 must be endorsed (stamped) by a Customs officer AT EXPORT, before the goods leave the country. An unstamped DA65 is worthless on re-import.
The SAD500 is the actual customs declaration (Bill of Entry) for every commercial shipment in or out of South Africa. The DA65 is a separate registration that supports the SAD500 in one specific scenario: commercial goods leaving SA temporarily that will return.
You lodge both — the SAD500 declares the goods, and the stamped DA65 proves on re-import that they are the same goods so you don't pay duty again.
Yes, in most cases. Used and second-hand goods generally require an ITAC import permit, which is issued by the International Trade Administration Commission and is NOT a SARS form.
You apply to ITAC, and the issued permit is then attached to your SAD500 customs declaration. Typical turnaround at ITAC is roughly three to five working days. The list of tariff codes that require an ITAC permit is published on the SARS Prohibited and Restricted list.
The South African sugar tax is officially called the Health Promotion Levy, and the SARS form for it is the DA179 — a periodic levy return submitted by manufacturers and importers of sugary beverages above the sugar threshold.
The levy is charged on grams of sugar per 100ml, not on volume, with an initial exempt amount per 100ml. It is administered by SARS as part of the environmental and health levy framework.
There are two routes depending on the situation. To fix the original declaration first, you lodge a Voucher of Correction (SAD504) against the original SAD500, which can adjust the duty up or down.
To recover money already paid, you lodge a DA66 — the general application for drawback or refund of customs duty — with supporting documents to the Controller of Customs. For drawbacks where you imported, paid duty, and then re-exported the goods, the targeted form is the DA64.
No. An ATA Carnet is an international "customs passport" issued in the goods' home country by its Chamber of Commerce — in South Africa, by the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI). SARS recognises the Carnet and stamps it on every entry and exit, but does not issue it.
A Carnet lets goods enter a country temporarily with no duty or VAT and is the standard document for art fairs, professional equipment and samples. An unstamped border crossing breaks the chain and triggers duty.
An ITAC permit is required for any importer or exporter whose tariff (HS) code appears on the SARS Prohibited and Restricted list as requiring one — typically used goods, certain chemicals, waste and scrap, fuels, and various controlled goods.
ITAC is a body of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, so the permit is NOT a SARS form. You apply to ITAC, receive the permit, and then attach it to your SAD500. SARS checks for the permit at clearance and will not release the goods without it.
All 46 SARS customs & excise forms — and the permits / certificates from other bodies that work alongside them — have their own plain-English page. Grouped by topic below.
JLog prepares and lodges customs and excise paperwork end-to-end for importers, exporters, manufacturers and galleries across South Africa.
This page is a plain-English guide, not legal or customs advice. SARS form names and procedures are verified against the official SARS "Find a Form" index at the time of publication, but requirements change — always confirm on sars.gov.za or with a registered customs broker before lodging. Items described as permits (ITAC, NRCS, Agriculture, ATA Carnet, Dangerous Goods Declaration) are NOT SARS forms — they are issued by other bodies.