HS Code 2103.90.99 — Sauces and preparations therefor; mixed condiments and mixed seasonings; mustard flour and meal and prepared mustard: Other | South Africa Import & Export

HS 2103.90.99 is the residual customs line where most specialty hot sauces, BBQ, peri-peri, sriracha, harissa, marinades and mixed seasoning blends actually land — and at 5% General duty, it is not the expensive line in the family. The expensive reclassification is sideways into 2103.90.10 (sauces of flour, meal or malt extract) at 20%, or upward into heading 2104 (soups and broths) at 20–25%. Get that wrong on a thickened gravy base or a reduction paste and your landed cost jumps four-fold on a line you thought you had pegged at 5%.

What this HS code covers

Heading 21.03 covers sauces, preparations for sauces, mixed condiments and mixed seasonings. The named sub-headings sweep up the obvious products: 2103.10 for soya sauce, 2103.20 for tomato ketchup and other tomato sauces, 2103.30 for mustard, 2103.90.91 and 2103.90.95 for mayonnaise. Everything else — specialty hot sauces, peri-peri, sriracha, harissa, chimichurri, jerk and tikka pastes, BBQ sauces, marinades, wing sauces, salsa verde, salad dressings that are not mayonnaise-based, and ready-blended seasoning rubs — falls into the residual 2103.90.99 line. It is the catch-all. Watch two siblings: 2103.90.10 captures sauces whose primary character is flour, meal or malt extract (gravy concentrates, malt-extract sauce powders, roux-style brown sauce bases), and that line carries a much higher duty.

South African trade picture

South Africa imported USD 32.0 million of HS 210390 across roughly 10,575 tonnes in 2024, the highest value year on record at this HS6 line and a 16.7% jump on 2023 (UN Comtrade, reporter ZAF, HS 210390, 2024). The top source markets by value were the United Kingdom at 22.8%, the United States at 20.0%, Italy at 7.9%, Thailand at 7.7% and the Netherlands at 5.6%. UK and US origin together account for nearly 43% of the line.

The angle most importer guides miss is the export direction. South Africa is a net exporter of this HS6 by a factor of 5.3 — USD 169.4 million in exports against USD 32.0 million in imports in 2024 (UN Comtrade, reporter ZAF, HS 210390, 2024). The destination mix is regional: Botswana 14.4%, Namibia 9.2%, Zambia 7.0%, Eswatini 3.7%, Mozambique 2.5% and Lesotho 2.2%. SADC countries take 39.0% of all SA sauce exports under this line, and they take them at zero duty under the SADC Trade Protocol. If you make sauces in South Africa, the regional market is the real revenue lever.

Duties and VAT

The General customs duty rate on 2103.90.99 is 5% ad valorem (SARS Schedule 1 Part 1, effective 15 May 2026). This is the same rate that applies to soy sauce (2103.10), tomato ketchup (2103.20), prepared mustard (2103.30.22) and both mayonnaise lines (2103.90.91 and 2103.90.95). The whole 2103 family sits at 5% with one outlier: 2103.90.10, sauces of flour, meal or malt extract, which carries a 20% General rate.

Preferential rates on 2103.90.99 matter, because most of the import value comes from EU and UK origin. Under the SADC-EU Economic Partnership Agreement and the UK-SACUM EPA, the rate is free with a valid EUR.1 movement certificate or registered exporter origin declaration. EFTA-SACU is 3%. SADC is free. MERCOSUR offers no preference (MFN 5% applies). AfCFTA is 2% for ratified state parties. AGOA is a US-side preference for SA exports into the United States — it does not reduce duty on US-origin sauces landing in South Africa, so a bottle of Tabasco still pays the 5% MFN at Cape Town.

VAT is 15% on the customs value uplifted by 10% (Added Tax Value), plus customs duty (Value-Added Tax Act 89 of 1991, section 13). The formula in practice: VAT = ((FOB customs value × 1.10) + customs duty) × 15%. Sauces and condiments are standard-rated foodstuffs — none of the section 11(1)(j) zero-rated basket (brown bread, maize meal, milk) applies here. There is no Health Promotion Levy on this line even if the sauce is sweet — HPL is scoped to sugary beverages and beverage concentrates, not condiments.

Documents and compliance

Standard clearance for a sauce consignment under 2103.90.99 needs the usual customs pack plus the foodstuffs and animal-product layer. Build the file before the container ships, not after it lands.

• Commercial invoice with a full ingredient list expressed in % by mass
• Packing list
• Bill of lading or air waybill
• SAD500 (and, where claiming preference, the EUR.1, origin declaration, SADC certificate of origin or AfCFTA certificate)
• Certificate of analysis from the manufacturer (allergen and microbiological)
• R146 compliant retail label, or an over-sticker plan signed off before discharge
• Veterinary Import (V.I.) permit from DALRRD where the sauce contains any meat stock, bone broth, fish sauce, anchovy, dairy or egg — must be obtained before the goods leave origin under the Animal Diseases Act 35 of 1984
• SARS Tariff Determination application (section 47(9), Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964) where the product sits anywhere near the 2103.90.10 or 2104 boundary

Regulation R146 of 1 March 2010, made under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act 54 of 1972, is non-negotiable for any retail-packed sauce. The label must carry the SA importer’s name and physical address (not a website, not a PO box), full descending-mass ingredient list, the full allergen declaration including sulphites over 10 ppm and sesame, country of origin, batch identifier, net contents and date marking. Port Health holds chilli paste and fermented sauce consignments at Durban and Cape Town routinely for label non-conformance — over-stickering on the wharf is allowed, but the over-sticker has to cover everything R146 demands.

Common mistakes

Three errors do most of the damage on this line. First, treating 2103.90.99 as the expensive end of the family — it is not, it is the same 5% as soy, ketchup and mayonnaise. The expensive sibling is 2103.90.10 at 20%, and SARS can push a flour-thickened or malt-extract sauce up into that line on audit. Apply for a binding tariff determination through https://tdn.sars.gov.za/portal/ before your first import if the product is anywhere near a gravy base or roux. Second, missing the V.I. permit on a sauce that contains anchovy, fish stock, oyster extract, dairy or egg — Worcestershire, oyster sauce, fish sauce, ranch and Caesar dressings all need DALRRD clearance before the container leaves origin. Get this wrong and Port Health holds the consignment. Third, claiming AGOA on a US-origin sauce import. AGOA runs the other direction — your American sriracha pays the full 5% MFN at the SA border. Use the UK-SACUM EPA and the SADC-EU EPA where origin allows; those genuinely take you to zero.

How JLog handles it

JLog clears 2103-line consignments through Cape Town and Durban regularly. We classify the product against the live SARS Schedule 1 Part 1 before the bill of lading is cut, file the SAD500 with the right preferential certificate where one applies, coordinate the DALRRD V.I. permit on animal-derived sauces, and brief the importer on R146 label conformance so the consignment is not held by Port Health on arrival. Where the product sits near the 2103.90.10 or 2104 boundary, we prepare the section 47(9) tariff determination application before the first shipment so the classification is binding on SARS, not arguable on audit. Freight is booked on volume- and destination-appropriate carrier accounts, and the file is reconciled to the cleared SAD500 before invoicing.

Get a quote

If a sauce shipment is sitting at Durban or Cape Town with a label query, a missing V.I. permit, or a SARS classification challenge, JLog can take the file from where it stalled. Get a quote: jlog.co.za/get-a-quote