Customs & compliance
Shipping documentation for South Sudan, document by document
Not a list of what you need, but an explanation of what each document is for, so you can tell when one is wrong.
The checklist version is at South Sudan import documents. This article explains what each document does, because knowing that is what lets you spot a bad one.
Commercial invoice
What it is for: establishing what was sold, to whom, and for how much. It is the primary evidence of the transaction value, which is the starting point for customs valuation under the Customs Service Act.
What it must show: seller and buyer, a specific description of the goods, quantities, unit prices, total, currency, terms of sale, and the invoice date and number.
What goes wrong: vague descriptions ("general goods"), a value that doesn't match the payment, a currency that differs from the contract, or a buyer name that differs from the consignee on the bill of lading.
Packing list
What it is for: telling a customs officer what is physically in front of them. During an examination, this is the document they hold.
What it must show: each piece or carton, numbered, with contents, net and gross weight, and dimensions. Marks on the document must match the marks on the cargo.
What goes wrong: a packing list produced from the order rather than from the actual packing. One extra carton, or one carton short, turns a routine examination into a discrepancy.
Bill of lading or air waybill
What it is for: evidencing the contract of carriage. A sea bill of lading also acts as a document of title. Whoever holds the original negotiable bill controls the cargo.
What it must show: shipper, consignee, notify party, description, marks, container and seal numbers, freight terms.
What goes wrong: the wrong consignee. Amending a bill of lading after issuance is slow and sometimes expensive. Check it when the draft is circulated, not when the vessel arrives.
Certificate of origin
What it is for: stating where the goods were produced.
What it must show: the country of manufacture, certified by an authorised body. In Kenya, certificates of origin are issued through KRA's customs stations, and preference regimes have their own registration requirements.
What goes wrong: confusing origin with the port of shipment. Chinese goods bought through a Dubai trader are of Chinese origin, whatever the invoice letterhead says.
Customs declaration (form C17)
What it is for: the formal entry of the goods. Form C17 is the customs declaration form in South Sudanese practice and appears throughout the official procedure listings. It is lodged through the Authority's customs system.
What goes wrong: a declaration that doesn't reconcile with the supporting documents.
Certificate of Conformity
What it is for: evidencing that goods within the scope of the pre-export verification of conformity programme meet the applicable standards. It is obtained in the country of export, before shipment, and required for clearance.
What goes wrong: not obtaining it, obtaining it late, or obtaining one whose details do not match the shipment.
What exporters get wrong about CoCs
Sector permits
What they are for: authorising the import of regulated categories. Medicines, medical devices and food fall under the Drug and Food Control Authority Act. Agricultural goods may need phytosanitary or fumigation certificates.
What goes wrong: applying after the goods arrive.
Transit documentation
What it is for: evidencing that foreign goods moved across Kenya and Uganda under customs control, and that the procedure was discharged.
See transit cargo through Kenya
The test that catches most problems
Lay every document side by side. Check that the following appear identically on all of them:
- The consignee name, spelled the same way
- The goods description
- The quantities and piece counts
- The values and currency
- The marks and numbers
Ten minutes. It prevents more delay than anything else on this list.
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Send us the cargo description, weight or volume, and the pickup and delivery addresses. We reply with a written rate, the transit time and the documents you will need.