Customs

[Angeluv]

Hi
How does customs work?
I have a parcel arriving from america via USPS.
If i track the parcel online it says its in foreign customs in SA.

How long does it normally stay there?
Can i speed the process up? I need the item by 14 March.
Does it go from customs to my nearest post office?
Can i collect it from customs, where is that ?

[kebs]

Hi there.. UPS should clear it for you - they will contact you to advise you of any custom fees, which they will pay for you & then you re-imburse them - I'm not sure how long it takes, but your best bet is to contact UPS with the tracking number. For other items not through a courier, they usually send you a card requesting an invoice so they know how much to charge you.. I may be wrong, but I have yet to find a way to hurry things up when a parcel is sitting at customs..

[SProducts]

@Kebs, the parcel seems to have been sent by USPS and not the UPS. If sent by USPS then it goes through SAPO. The best is to call 0860111502 and give them the overseas tracking number, they will give you a local number and the local status. If you need to send them an invoice the customer care will tell you in most cases. But should you get the local number and track with no movement, better contact customs directly. You can get the number from the same number.

[Angeluv]

Thank you. I will keep this info, coz i couldnt find a south african contact number for them on usps.com

My parcel arrived today! The SAPO delivered it to my door, i had to pay R25 fee.

The person who sent me the parcel, said they will make sure i dont have to pay any customs fees,
ive heard that some people pay almost the same in customs fees as what the item costs.

[kebs]

R25 - you're very lucky! I've paid almost R1000 before, & also refused to accept a parcel where the fee was R800, but the item only cost R100!!

[Angeluv]

I cant believe they can charge so high! So you can refuse it if you want ?
Maybe it was supposed to be more, but the sender said she will make sure i dont get charged?

[kebs]

Yup, you can refuse, then they are supposed to send the item back.. I informed my supplier, who immediately sent another item, which made it through without any charges at all.. Sometimes it depends on the luck of the draw!

[Asha Craft]

Just a tip for future reference... it is actually illegal to "arrange" that no custom fees are charged. Many overseas sellers write down a low value for customs clearance purposes, but if customs in SA ever catches you out, then you AND the seller are fined R1500 each. Never try to lie to customs and never understate the value of the contents because it can come back to haunt you.

[Angeluv]

Is customs charges based on the value of the parcel?


In your experiences, what have you had to pay for customs before?
How much and what was the value of your parcel?

[kebs]

As far as I know, it's based on value - I often get cards requesting invoices for parcels. But really confusing - some things make it through without any fees, even though the value is specified on the postage label, other parcels get charged for - & it's usually the same type of items as well..

[Asha Craft]

It's called "luck of the draw". Some parcels go through without ANY fees, others incur just a flat rate R25 fee, and then most parcels will be charged based on what you paid for the package. This works out to roughly 40% of the total amount you paid for the order. (strictly speaking about jewellery and clothes)

[JPBon]

Here you can read the customs act: South African Revenue Service - Customs Duty

There are a few thousand customs codes some are exempt some low some high.

Jewelery has more than one code for the metal (gold/silver etc) the stones and the combinations there of. So depends where they allocate it to.

[Cali Craft and Gems]

Sometimes I wonder if they "scan" the packages with a metal detector because every so often I get charged for "clad in precious metal" when the only metal item in the package is a staple!!! Either that, or someone just doesn't know that a staple is not a jewellery item!