SAD 500 (South Africa Customs Declaration)

The SAD 500 (Single Administrative Document 500) is South Africa's standard customs declaration, the form through which goods are declared to SARS Customs for import, export, transit and warehousing. It captures the tariff classification (HS), customs value, origin, duties and VAT, and the customs procedure code that identifies the type of movement.

Lodged electronically with SARS (with supporting invoice, transport and permit documents), the SAD 500 is what triggers the assessment of duties and VAT and enables release of the goods, subject to SARS's risk-based controls. Correct completion — accurate classification, valuation, origin and procedure code — is essential to correct assessment and to avoiding delays, penalties or detention. The SAD 500 is modelled on the Single Administrative Document concept used in the EU and elsewhere. For importers, exporters and customs brokers in South Africa, the SAD 500 is the everyday instrument of customs declaration, and handling it correctly is core to South African trade operations. It is the declaration through which goods clear South African customs.