Household goods to South Africa: rebate 407.06, form DA 304 and the six months on both sides
Your household goods enter South Africa free of customs duty and VAT under rebate 407.06, provided you lived outside the country for at least six months and form DA 304 with a full inventory travels with them. Then a second six-month term applies: for that long you may not sell anything from the container. The car falls outside every rebate you can use as a Dutch national — you sell it at home.
Yes, your household goods can come to South Africa without customs duty and VAT — customs has rebate 407.06 in Schedule 4 to the Customs and Excise Act for that. What it costs is the crossing itself: a sea container via Rotterdam to Cape Town or Durban, for which the cost indication gives the range. The find is on the SARS question-and-answer page: the rebate requires that you lived outside South Africa for at least six months and that three forms and an inventory are ready at clearance — DA 304, P1.160 and the customs declaration SAD 500. The trap is the second six-month term the embassy mentions: what you import under the rebate you may not sell or give away for half a year afterwards, and the car falls outside it in any case.
What conditions does customs set for my household goods?
| Condition | What SARS and the embassy say | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Rebate | rebate item 407.06 of Schedule 4: no customs duty and no VAT | SARS |
| Residence outside South Africa | at least 6 months | SARS |
| Forms at clearance | inventory; P1.160 (declaration on unaccompanied household effects); DA 304 (the rebate application); SAD 500 (customs declaration) | SARS |
| Own use | goods of you and your family, for own use | embassy |
| What falls outside | industrial, commercial and agricultural plant; motor vehicles; alcohol and tobacco | embassy |
| After clearance | not sold or otherwise disposed of for at least 6 months | embassy |
| Extra documents | passport, proof of absence from South Africa, full inventory | embassy |
For Dutch nationals the six months outside South Africa is a formality; the inventory is not. A container that reaches the port of Cape Town without a complete list, or with a DA 304 that is not signed, stands still until the papers are right — at your expense. The mover knows the forms, but you sign them, and you are the importer SARS addresses.
What does ITAC still do with my belongings?
Besides customs there is the trade authority ITAC. Whoever imports used or controlled goods for personal use needs its permission according to the government page: you register as an importer with SARS and submit form IE 463 to ITAC, with a certified copy of your identity document. ITAC charges no fees, and processing takes up to three days. Which goods are on the import-control list, ITAC publishes itself; ask your mover before packing which items in your inventory fall under it, because a second-hand fridge is something other than a sofa.
The household goods are exempt, but the car is not — and the car decides whether your container may enter or not. Motor vehicles are excluded from rebate 407.06, and the separate car rebate 407.04 goes only to those who already hold permanent residence. Sell the car in the Netherlands and do not put it "just quickly" in the container.
Why doesn't the car come along?
Two reasons, both from an official source. First, ITAC excludes left-hand-drive vehicles that were not registered in South Africa before 23 July 2004 from registration, roadworthy testing and use on a public road — every Dutch car falls under that. Second, the car rebate 407.04 the embassy describes applies only to those who can show their permanent residence permit, with a car owned for at least twelve months, one per household, which may not be lent, hired out or sold for twenty months; without the rebate customs charges 40% duty plus an ad valorem duty of up to 20%. How you buy a right-hand-drive car in South Africa and when you convert your licence is in driving licence and car in South Africa.
How do I plan the container?
The step-by-step plan puts the container in the moving phase, with the weeks at sea as a fixed item. Three things need your hand:
- The inventory: per box, in English, with the same numbering the mover uses. Customs compares list and load.
- The signatures: DA 304 and P1.160 are signed by the importer — you — and not by the mover. Ask for the completed forms before departure and check that your name, passport number and address match your visa.
- The reception: the container arrives when you are already there, with an address at which clearance and delivery can be notified. A temporary lease is enough; see renting in South Africa.
What need not come along, you sell at home. Every box you do not pack saves on the voyage and on the list by which customs assesses the rebate.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to South Africa or go straight to step 4.1 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change — when in doubt the source is leading, not this article.
- SARS — what you need to import personal effects and household goods: rebate 407.06, six months, forms P1.160, DA 304 and SAD 500 — sars.gov.za
- South African Embassy in The Hague — importing household and personal effects: what falls outside and the six months after clearance — zuidafrika.nl
- South African Government — importing goods for personal use: the ITAC permit for used and controlled goods — gov.za
- South African Embassy in The Hague — the car of first-time immigrants: rebate 407.04 only with permanent residence — zuidafrika.nl
- ITAC — guidelines for importing used vehicles: the ban on left-hand-drive cars from after 23 July 2004 — itac.org.za
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