HS Code 7315.11 — Roller chain | South Africa Import & Export

Most importers of roller chain into South Africa pay 15% MFN duty, not the 10% rate older guides still quote — and a recurring broker error drags Chinese roller chain shipments into an anti-dumping dragnet that was never meant for this tariff line. HS 7315.11 covers the articulated-link transmission chain that drives every conveyor, combine harvester, motorbike, e-bike and factory line in the country. Getting the 8-digit split right, and knowing which ITAC measures actually apply, is where this heading either costs you nothing extra or costs you tens of thousands in unrecoverable duty plus weeks of SARS stops.

What this HS code covers

HS 7315.11 sits inside heading 73.15 (“chain and parts thereof, of iron or steel”), under the subheading 7315.1 for articulated link chain. It captures roller chain specifically — the construction with pins running through bushes, with rollers turning on the bushes, held by inner and outer side-plates. That’s the chain on a motorbike sprocket, a tractor PTO, a packhouse conveyor, or a bicycle drive.

Its neighbours catch different products: 7315.12 is “other articulated link chain” (silent / leaf / inverted-tooth chain without rollers), 7315.19 is parts, 7315.81 is anchor stud-link chain, and 7315.82 is welded link chain — none of which are roller chain in the customs sense. SARS splits 7315.11 into two 8-digit lines: 7315.11.10 for heavy bush-roller conveyor chain in a narrow 20–50 kg/m mass band, and 7315.11.90 for everything else — which is where the vast majority of imports land.

South African trade picture

In 2024 South Africa imported USD 14.0 million of roller chain across 1,666 tonnes under HS 731511 (UN Comtrade, reporter ZAF, 2024). That’s up 19.6% by value and 28.9% by tonnage on 2023, after the line dipped through that year. South Africa exported a much smaller USD 3.4 million on 361 tonnes back into the region, leaving the country a net importer at roughly 4:1.

The supplier mix matters because it sets your duty answer. China is the top source at USD 4.56 million (32.6% share by value), but over half the tonnage at 55.2% — the classic mass-market ANSI and BS roller chain for motorbike, agricultural and conveyor use. The USA is second at USD 3.26 million (23.3%), followed by Japan (USD 1.67 million, 11.9%), Germany (USD 1.44 million, 10.3%) and Italy (USD 0.65 million, 4.6%). The top five together account for 82.7% of the line (UN Comtrade, reporter ZAF, HS 731511, 2024).

The unit-value spread is enormous: Chinese roller chain landed at USD 4.96/kg on average, against German chain at USD 44.11/kg — a 9x premium that reflects food-grade, stainless, and high-tensile OEM specifications coming out of Germany versus commodity drive chain out of China.

Duties and VAT

The duty answer depends on which 8-digit split your chain falls into. The headline numbers from Schedule 1 Part 1:

Source: SARS Schedule No. 1 Part 1, dated 2026-05-15.

Most roller chain imports pay 15% MFN duty because the heavy-conveyor split at 7315.11.10 only catches bush roller chain in a tight 20–50 kg/m mass band — that’s heavy mining and pulp-and-paper conveyor scale, not the motorbike, agri or standard ANSI 40-to-80 sprocket chain that fills the line. The 8-digit split bites both ways: a heavy bush-roller conveyor chain correctly declared at 7315.11.10 pays 10% general but only 4% under AfCFTA; the same chain wrongly declared at 7315.11.90 pays 15% MFN but free under AfCFTA. The importer doesn’t get to choose — SARS classifies on physical characteristics at the inspection bay.

EU and UK origin chain enters at zero duty across all 7315.11 sublines under the SADC-EU EPA and SACUM-UK EPA. Given Germany alone supplies 10.3% of the line by value, that’s a real lever for premium-spec OEM spares — but you must hold a valid EUR.1 movement certificate or origin declaration at clearance. You cannot retro-fit it after the entry has been finalised.

VAT is 15% on the Added Tax Value (ATV), where ATV = (customs value × 1.10) + customs duty. For a 7315.11.90 import at 15% MFN, the effective VAT-on-FOB customs value works out at 18.975%. On a USD 50,000 FOB customs value Chinese roller chain shipment, you’ll pay USD 7,500 in duty, then USD 9,375 in VAT on the uplifted base — total duty plus VAT of USD 16,875, or 33.75% of FOB customs value (VAT Act 89 of 1991, s 13(2); SARS Customs External Policy on Valuation).

Documents and compliance

A 7315.11 entry needs the standard customs file plus enough technical detail on the invoice for the inspector to confirm the heading without opening every carton. A vague invoice line reading “roller chain — 500 pcs” is the single biggest cause of SARS stops on this heading. You want pitch (ANSI 40 / 50 / 60 / 80, or BS 08B / 10B / 12B), roll length, link count, and the manufacturer’s tensile-strength and construction certificate showing the chain is articulated with pins, bushes and rollers — not welded loops.

Documents typically required:

• Commercial invoice with chain pitch, construction (single / duplex / triplex), pitch length, weight per metre, and roll count
• Packing list matching the invoice line by line
• Bill of lading or air waybill
• SAD500 customs declaration
• Manufacturer’s mill or origin certificate showing articulated construction with rollers (critical to keep your entry out of the 7315.82 welded-chain audit lane)
• EUR.1 movement certificate or origin declaration if claiming EU / UK preferential zero duty
• AfCFTA certificate of origin if claiming the African continental preference
• Engineering drawing or product datasheet showing pin / bush / roller / side-plate dimensions — this is what locks in the heading at inspection

Common mistakes

The China anti-dumping duty on “chain” does NOT apply to roller chain. ITAC’s final determination under Report No. 686, published as Government Gazette Notice 1681 of 2023, falls on non-articulated welded link chain of 4–20 mm wire diameter originating in China — that is HS 7315.82, the welded chain line, not HS 7315.11. If a customs broker tells you your Chinese roller chain shipment owes anti-dumping duty, ask them to cite the specific gazette and tariff line. The duty does not exist on 7315.11.

The trap is that SARS examiners auditing Chinese chain imports run an extra documentation check on the whole of heading 73.15 to catch importers declaring welded link chain (subject to anti-dumping duty) as articulated roller chain (not subject). A clear mill certificate showing pin-and-bush articulated construction is the document that keeps you out of that audit.

The bicycle chain arbitrage cuts both ways. A finished bicycle drive chain presented with the bicycle it belongs to — pre-cut to a standard length with a master link, packed with the bike — classifies under HS 8714.99 (bicycle parts) at zero duty. The same chain in bulk on a 50-metre reel, packed separately for a shop to cut and rivet, stays in 7315.11.90 at 15% MFN. SARS examiners check packaging and presentation to decide. Importers gaming reel chain as “bicycle parts” face penalty assessments under section 87 of the Customs and Excise Act.

Silent chain, leaf chain and forged block chain are not roller chain. A high-tensile silent chain (Morse-style inverted-tooth) is articulated but has no rollers — it sits at 7315.12.90 at 15%. A forged-block engineering chain on a shovel-loader bucket-tilt sits at 7315.89.10 at free duty. The same generic description on an invoice can land at three different rates depending on the construction. Engineering drawings on the invoice are not optional.

How JLog handles it

JLog clears roller chain imports through both Cape Town and Johannesburg. We confirm the 8-digit split before the goods arrive — 7315.11.10 versus 7315.11.90 — using the manufacturer’s specification sheet rather than the invoice description, and we pre-clear EUR.1 origin paperwork for EU and UK shipments so you capture the zero-duty rate at entry instead of paying duty and arguing later. On Chinese-origin shipments we attach the mill certificate showing articulated construction up front, which keeps the entry out of the welded-chain anti-dumping audit lane. We handle the SAD500, ITAC paperwork where required, sea and air freight, and delivery to your warehouse — and we’ll tell you, in writing, what the landed cost is before you commit to the order.

Get a quote

Get a quote for shipping HS 7315.11 roller chain into or out of South Africa: jlog.co.za/get-a-quote

Stop paying 15% on a chain that owes nothing — or owes 4% — because your broker can’t read an 8-digit line.