Customs & compliance
How to work out your South Sudan import taxes before you ship
You can establish your duty position before you ship. What you cannot do is take a percentage off a freight company's blog and budget against it.
Why you should distrust any rate list you find online
Search for South Sudan import duty rates and you will find confident percentages on a dozen commercial websites. They don't agree with each other.
There is a structural reason for that. South Sudan sets its tax and duty rates in an annual Financial Act. The rates that apply to your consignment are those in force on the date of entry, for that fiscal year. A figure published eighteen months ago may no longer be the law, and the sites publishing them rarely say which year they are describing.
We take the same view on our own site: see South Sudan import duties and taxes for why we don't publish percentages.
The method that works
Step 1: Classify the goods properly
The duty rate attaches to the tariff classification. Until you know the HS code, you cannot look up a rate. You can only guess at one.
Give the material, the function and the model. "Machinery" is not a classification.
Step 2: Establish the customs value
Duty is calculated on the customs value, determined under the valuation provisions of the Customs Service Act. Normally that is the transaction value, meaning what you actually paid, supported by the invoice and evidence of payment.
Be realistic here. An invoice that understates the price saves a little duty on paper and costs far more in storage and detention while a valuation query is resolved.
Step 3: Find the Financial Act in force
The National Revenue Authority publishes the Acts. Identify the one covering the fiscal year your goods will be entered in, which is not always the year you are planning in.
Step 4: Work out the order of calculation
Duty is applied to the customs value. Consumption tax is generally applied to a base that already includes duty. Excise, where applicable, applies to specific categories.
Because the taxes stack, a difference in classification has a larger effect on the total than the headline rate difference suggests.
Step 5: Confirm it with someone who can be held to it
For anything material, get a position from the National Revenue Authority or from a licensed clearing agent in South Sudan, on your specific goods and classification. A determination obtained in advance costs far less than a dispute at the border.
What to budget beyond duty and tax
- Clearing agent fees at both ends
- Certificate of Conformity and sector permits
- Port charges at Mombasa, for sea cargo
- Container deposit, detention and demurrage exposure
- Freight, at our published rates
- Final delivery and offloading
On exemptions
Relief and exemption schemes exist in South Sudanese law, as in most customs regimes, with their scope defined in legislation. We don't advise on eligibility, and we would be cautious of any forwarder who promises an exemption before seeing your documents. If you believe relief applies, obtain a determination and we will work to it.
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Tell us what you are shipping
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.