International transit
Importing into South Sudan via Mombasa
Written for the buyer in Juba rather than the forwarder in Mombasa. If you are purchasing goods abroad and they will come through Kenya, these are the decisions you make, and the order to make them in.
Decide the incoterm before you pay the supplier
The incoterm in your purchase contract decides who arranges and pays for each leg, and where risk passes. It is the single most consequential line in the deal, and it is far cheaper to get right at quotation stage than to renegotiate once the goods are on the water.
- FOB (port of loading). You control the sea freight and everything after it. Usually the best choice if you want visibility and competitive pricing, because you pick the line and the forwarder.
- CIF Mombasa. The supplier arranges sea freight to Mombasa. Convenient, but you inherit whatever line and whatever local charges their agent has arranged, and those destination charges can be substantial.
- EXW (ex works). You arrange everything from the supplier's factory door. Maximum control, maximum work.
- DDP Juba. The supplier delivers duty paid. Rare on this route and usually priced accordingly. Check very carefully what "duty paid" is defined to cover.
Whatever you agree, make sure the consignee named on the bill of lading is the party who will actually clear the goods in South Sudan.
Get your importer status in order
Clearing commercial goods in your own name in South Sudan means being registered with the National Revenue Authority and holding a Taxpayer Identification Number. Import licensing requirements are set out in the Imports and Exports Act.
Do this before the goods ship, not while they sit at a border.
See South Sudan customs clearance
Check whether your goods need a Certificate of Conformity
South Sudan operates a pre-export verification of conformity programme. Goods within its scope need a Certificate of Conformity issued before shipment, and the certificate is required for customs clearance.
This is the requirement that most often strands importers new to the route, because it cannot be fixed retrospectively. Verify scope with your supplier at purchase order stage.
Full detail on the Certificate of Conformity
The journey
- Supplier ships from the origin port to Mombasa.
- Arrival at Mombasa, manifest filed, free periods begin. What happens at the port
- Transit declaration and bond for the onward movement. How transit works
- Road leg through Kenya and Uganda under cargo tracking.
- Border crossing at Nimule. Nimule border clearance
- South Sudan customs entry: declaration, classification, valuation, assessment, any standards inspection, payment and release.
- Delivery to your premises.
Get a quotation
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.
Budget for all of it, not just the freight
First-time importers routinely budget the sea freight and are surprised by everything else. A realistic landed cost includes:
- Sea freight and origin charges
- Port charges at Mombasa
- Container deposit (refundable) and any detention or demurrage (not refundable)
- Transit bond costs and the onward road freight
- South Sudan import duty, VAT and other taxes assessed on entry (see import duties and taxes)
- Certificate of Conformity and any sector permits
- Clearing agent fees at both ends
- Final delivery and offloading
Ask us for a landed cost breakdown rather than a freight rate alone, and we will tell you which lines we can price and which depend on your goods and classification.