HS Code 3301.19 — Other | South Africa Import & Export

Getting HS 3301.19 wrong is the difference between a 0% duty waved through customs and a SARS query that holds your bergamot at OR Tambo for two weeks while you produce ingredient breakdowns and bergaptene certificates. In 2024 South Africa exported USD 14.68 million of HS 3301.19 across roughly 1,075 tonnes (UN Comtrade, reporter ZAF, HS 330119, 2024) — SA is a net exporter of these oils, not just an importer.

What this HS code covers

HS 3301.19 sits inside Chapter 33 (essential oils, resinoids, perfumery, cosmetic and toilet preparations) and is the residual “other citrus” subheading. It covers cold-pressed and distilled essential oils of lime, bergamot, grapefruit, mandarin, tangerine, citron, kaffir lime (makrut) and yuzu. South Africa splits the heading into two national subheadings: 3301.19.10 for lime oil specifically, and 3301.19.90 for everything else.

Three close neighbours catch people out: orange oil sits in 3301.12, lemon oil in 3301.13, and concretes, absolutes, terpenic by-products and deterpenated essential oils in 3301.90. If you are importing a deterpenated bergamot — for example a furocoumarin-free bergamot for cosmetic use — the oil still belongs in 3301.19 as long as it retains its essential character. But an “aqueous bergamot distillate” sold as a water-soluble extract can drag the line into 3301.90 and into a 20% duty bracket. The description on your commercial invoice matters as much as the chemistry.

South African trade picture

South Africa is a structural net exporter of HS 3301.19, by a margin of roughly 7:1 in value. In 2024 SA exported USD 14.68 million across 1,075 tonnes and imported USD 2.10 million across 95 tonnes (UN Comtrade, reporter ZAF, HS 330119, 2024). The 2024 export value was a record for the series — tonnage was actually slightly down on 2023, but the implied unit price stepped up from roughly USD 10.51/kg to USD 13.66/kg, in line with the global premium citrus-oil price recovery after the 2023–24 European citrus shortfall.

On the export side, the United States takes nearly half of everything SA ships under this heading — USD 7.13 million, or 48.6% of total exports in 2024. Lesotho follows at 11.3%, Germany at 7.1%, China at 6.3% and the Netherlands at 5.8% (UN Comtrade, reporter ZAF, HS 330119, 2024). Lesotho and Eswatini are SACU-internal flows so no duty applies between them and SA, but they confirm that South Africa supplies the region as well as Europe, Asia and North America. Germany, the Netherlands and the UK combined take roughly 17% of exports.

On the import side the partner ranking is not what most importers expect. In 2024 the United Kingdom was the largest source at 25.7% (USD 541k), followed by Mexico at 17.1% (USD 359k — Mexican lime oil), the United States at 16.2%, Germany at 8.8% and Italy at only 6.0% (USD 127k). Italy is the spiritual home of Calabrian bergamot but it is not, on the 2024 numbers, the dominant origin for SA buyers — most premium oils now move through UK trading houses before they reach Cape Town.

Duties and VAT

Both national subheadings under HS 3301.19 carry a 0% (free) MFN duty under SARS Schedule 1 Part 1, Chapter 33 (SARS Schedule 1 Part 1, Chapter 33, 2026-05-15). The preferential columns — EU/UK under the SADC EPA, EFTA, SADC, MERCOSUR-SACU and AfCFTA — are also all free. In practical terms, your essential-oil shipment lands at zero duty regardless of origin certificate. The EUR.1, SADC certificate or other proof of origin still matters for audit trail and downstream re-export, but it does not save you any duty on the inbound consignment itself.

VAT is the standard 15%, calculated on customs value uplifted by 10% plus duty. With duty at zero, the effective import VAT works out at 15% × (FOB customs value × 1.10), or roughly 16.5% of FOB customs value. No anti-dumping, countervailing or safeguard duty is recorded against HS 3301.19 in Schedule 1 Part 1 as of 2026-05-15. There is no excise duty either: the 7%/9% ad valorem excise that catches finished perfumes and cosmetics applies to headings 33.03–33.07, not to bulk essential oils under 33.01.

A worked example: a R250,000 FOB customs value Italian bergamot consignment attracts R0 duty and approximately R41,250 in VAT (15% on R275,000), giving a landed cost before clearing fees of roughly R291,250.

On the export side, SARS does not levy export duty on 3301.19. The US — your single largest customer at 49% of exports — applies a 0% MFN on most of the heading (US HTS 3301.19.51), with grapefruit oil (US HTS 3301.19.10) sitting at 2.7% MFN but historically free for SA shipments under AGOA. AGOA’s authorising statute expired on 30 September 2025 and renewal has not yet been confirmed at the time of writing. Exporters of grapefruit oil to the US should verify AGOA status before shipping rather than assume duty-free entry will hold (US HTS 2026, USITC, Chapter 33).

Documents and compliance

A clean 3301.19 file moves through customs in hours rather than weeks, but it has to be complete. SARS, DAFF and the NRCS will ask for the following on a typical citrus essential-oil consignment:

• Commercial invoice listing the full botanical name (Citrus bergamia, Citrus aurantifolia, Citrus paradisi, Citrus reticulata) and CAS number
• Packing list with net and gross weights per drum or IBC
• Bill of lading or air waybill
• Certificate of origin (EUR.1 for EU/UK, SADC certificate for regional flows, US AGOA self-certification on the export side)
• Material Safety Data Sheet (essential oils are typically UN 1169 or UN 3082, Class 3, Packing Group III)
• IATA Dangerous Goods Declaration for air freight
• Certificate of Analysis with GC-MS profile (SARS uses this to confirm the oil is genuinely a citrus essential oil rather than a synthetic reconstitution)
• Bergaptene (5-MOP) test certificate for bergamot oils destined for cosmetic use
• IFRA compliance certificate where the oil is for fragrance use
• DAFF phytosanitary certificate on export to destinations that require it (notably China, India and South Korea)
• NRCS / Department of Health labelling compliance under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act 54 of 1972 for cosmetic-grade imports

Common mistakes

The mistakes that hold consignments are nearly always paperwork rather than product.

The deterpenation trap is the expensive one — describe a deterpenated bergamot as an “aqueous extract” on your commercial invoice and SARS can reclassify it into 3301.90.10, where the General duty is 20% rather than 0%. State the physical form and attach the GC-MS profile.

Air-freight bergamot consignments without a bergaptene Certificate of Analysis sit at OR Tambo until the importer produces one — the NRCS mirrors the EU’s furocoumarin limits and will not release for cosmetic use without proof. Mis-declared botanical species is another regular query (bergamot orange is Citrus bergamia; “bergamot mint” is Mentha citrata and falls in a different subheading entirely).

On the export side, assuming “processed oil needs no phyto certificate” is wrong for several Asian destinations — check the importing country’s National Plant Protection Organisation rules before booking the vessel. Finally, do not assume AGOA duty-free treatment into the US is automatic for 2026 shipments until the renewal is confirmed.

How JLog handles it

JLog handles HS 3301.19 consignments end-to-end from our Woodstock base in Cape Town. We classify the line correctly the first time, prepare the commercial invoice and SAD500 declaration with the botanical names and CAS numbers SARS expects, attach the GC-MS and bergaptene certificates where the use case requires them, and lodge the IATA DGD for air freight. For exporters we organise the EUR.1, the AGOA documentation, and the DAFF phytosanitary certificate where the destination country requires one. We work with bergamot, lime, grapefruit, mandarin and tangerine consignments to Europe, the US, the UK and the SADC region on a regular basis, and we handle the cross-border SACU flows to Lesotho and Eswatini in-house.

Stop guessing whether your bergamot clears at 0% or 20%. Get a quote.