HS Code 2204.22.30 — Wine of fresh grapes, including fortified wines; grape must (excluding that of heading 20.09): Grape must with fermentation prevented or arrested by the addition of alcohol |

If you searched HS 2204.22.30 expecting bag-in-box wine, the South African tariff book will surprise you. In the current SARS Schedule 1 Part 1 (issue dated 2026-05-15), 2204.22.30 is a niche line for grape must with fermentation prevented or arrested by the addition of alcohol — a blending feedstock used to sweeten and stabilise fortified wines, sometimes called mistela or mistelle. Bag-in-box and restaurant-pack wine — what most readers actually want — classifies one or two digits over: 2204.22.41 for unfortified wine of 4.5–16.5% ABV, 2204.22.42 for unfortified wine of other strengths, 2204.22.51 for fortified wine of 15–22% ABV, and 2204.22.52 for other fortified wine. This page covers 2204.22.30 specifically, but reads across the whole 2204.22 group because the duty columns are identical and the paperwork overlaps.

What this HS code covers

Heading 2204.22 sits at the format break in chapter 22: it captures wine of fresh grapes and certain grape musts in containers holding more than 2 litres but not more than 10 litres. Inside that band, 2204.22.30 is reserved for grape must where fermentation has been stopped by adding neutral wine spirit. The end product is not a drinking wine — it is a high-sugar, alcohol-stabilised intermediate that flows into cellars producing port-style, jerepiko, hanepoot, and other naturally sweet fortified wines. Trade in this exact line is small. The commercial volume in 2204.22 sits in the .41 and .51 splits — the bag-in-box wine that fills Swedish supermarket shelves and the 5-litre restaurant packs (“wine on tap”) that move through HoReCa across Africa and the Gulf.

South African trade picture

UN Comtrade does not publish below HS6 for South Africa, so the trade picture below covers the full HS 220422 line (all five 8-digit splits combined). According to UN Comtrade 2024 data (reporter ZAF, HS 220422), South Africa exported USD 31.79 million and 20,404 tonnes of wine in 2–10L containers. Imports in the same format were USD 91,258 across 39 tonnes — an export-to-import ratio of roughly 349:1. South Africa is a decisive net exporter at this format.

The destination mix is concentrated. Sweden took 23.7% of the 2024 export value (USD 7.54m), driven by Systembolaget’s bag-in-box procurement. SACU neighbours together accounted for 35.7% — Namibia 15.1%, Botswana 11.6%, Eswatini 5.7%, Lesotho 3.3%. The UAE took 10.0%, Kenya 3.2%, Nigeria 3.0%. The United Kingdom was only 1.4% of HS 220422 exports because most UK-bound SA wine moves either in bottles under HS 2204.21 or in flexitanks under HS 2204.29. On the import side, the top named source was Moldova (USD 26k), followed by Portugal, Italy, Spain and France — the few EU shipments together being the only commercially relevant inbound flow (UN Comtrade, reporter ZAF, HS 220422, 2024).

Duties and VAT

All five 8-digit splits inside 2204.22 carry the same customs duty columns. Under SARS Schedule 1 Part 1 (issue dated 2026-05-15), the general (MFN) rate is 25% ad valorem. EU and UK origin enters free with a valid EUR.1 or origin declaration under the SADC-EU EPA and SACUM-UK EPA. SADC-origin wine enters free with a SADC certificate of origin. The EFTA-SACU FTA carries no preference for chapter 22 — Norwegian, Icelandic and Swiss wine pays the full 25%. MERCOSUR-SACU also offers no wine preference. AfCFTA provides a phased 10% rate, subject to per-shipment verification.

Excise is set in SARS Schedule 1 Part 2A (issue dated 2026-02-25, effective 25 February 2026 following the Budget). The relevant rates inside the 2204.22 group are:

2204.22.30 itself is not separately tariffed in Schedule 1 Part 2A. The excise outcome on a grape-must-with-alcohol consignment follows the closest applicable wine rate based on alcohol content — R6.15/li if it behaves like unfortified wine, R10.38/li if it sits in the 15–22% fortified band, or R302.84 per litre of absolute alcohol if it falls into the residual “other” category. For a first-time importer of this specific line, a binding tariff determination from SARS is the safe route.

VAT applies at 15% on (customs value × 1.10) plus customs duty plus excise, under section 13 of the VAT Act 89 of 1991. There is no zero-rating for wine.

For SA-produced wine sold for export, the SAWIS statutory levies add producer-side cost: R&D&I 10.09 c/li, AWARE 0.20 c/li, Wine Online 0.75 c/li, plus an export levy of 20.30 c/li for certified-packaged, 17.19 c/li for certified-bulk, or 16.43 c/li for uncertified wine (SAWIS Levy Tariffs 2026–2029, published 25 February 2026). These levies do not apply to imported wine.

Documents and compliance

Wine moves through three regulators on the way in and out of South Africa: SARS for duty, excise and VAT; DALRRD for product compliance; and SAWIS for the statutory levy and Wine of Origin reporting. The single document that derails clearances most often is the wine analysis certificate — the alcohol percentage on it must match the SAD 500 declaration and the label.

Typical paperwork for an HS 2204.22 consignment:

• Commercial invoice and packing list.
• Bill of lading or air waybill.
• Certificate of origin appropriate to the regime claimed (EUR.1 for EU and UK; SADC certificate; AfCFTA declaration).
• DALRRD wine import permit issued by the Wine Certification Authority (post 1 August 2023, replacing the Wine and Spirit Board), under the Liquor Products Act 60 of 1989 as amended by Act 17 of 2021.
• Wine analysis certificate from an accredited laboratory.
• Label compliance evidence under the SA Liquor Products Regulations (alcohol % v/v, country of origin, volume in millilitres, allergen declaration including sulphites, importer name and address).
• SARS DA 32 / DA 33 documentation where excise rebate is claimed on exports.
• For exports: SAWIS levy clearance and the Wine of Origin export certificate where the wine is WO-certified; destination paperwork such as a US TTB COLA or the SADC-EU EPA self-certification within the EU wine TRQ.

Common mistakes

The first trap is the title trap — assuming 2204.22.30 means bag-in-box wine and entering bag-in-box consignments against it. The correct line for most bag-in-box is 2204.22.41 if the wine sits between 4.5% and 16.5% ABV. The second trap is the alcohol-band trap: a wine that drifts outside 4.5–16.5% ABV exits 2204.22.41 and lands in 2204.22.42, where excise jumps from R6.15 per litre of product to R302.84 per litre of absolute alcohol — at 12.5% ABV that is R37.86/li, roughly six times the unfortified rate. The third trap is claiming EFTA preference on Swiss or Norwegian wine — chapter 22 sits outside the EFTA-SACU wine preference, and the full 25% MFN applies. The fourth is forgetting the DALRRD permit on small consignments. There is no de minimis exemption — a 100ml lab sample needs the same Wine Certification Authority permit as a 10,000-litre container, and the permit number must appear on the SAD 500 before SARS will release the goods.

How JLog handles it

JLog is a customs clearance and freight forwarding operation based in Woodstock, Cape Town — within driving distance of the Cape Town Container Terminal that handles most SA wine exports. For wine shipments under HS 2204.22, we lodge the SAD 500, manage the DALRRD wine import permit with the Wine Certification Authority, prepare DA 32 / DA 33 excise rebate paperwork for exporters, verify EUR.1 and SACUM-UK origin claims, and coordinate the wine analysis certificate with the laboratory. For SA producers exporting bag-in-box to Sweden, the UAE, or SACU neighbours, we handle the SAWIS levy clearance and Wine of Origin paperwork alongside the freight booking.

Get a quote

Shipping HS 2204.22.30 — or any 2204.22 bag-in-box or restaurant-pack wine — into or out of South Africa? A 100ml sample needs the same Wine Certification Authority permit as a 10,000-litre container. Get it cleared properly: jlog.co.za/get-a-quote