Imports & Customs — South Africa

You may bring R5,000 of new or used goods into South Africa duty-free, once per 30 days and only after 48 hours away. Above that you can choose a flat 20% duty on a further R20,000 with no VAT — but a single item worth more than R25,000 forfeits both allowances and is taxed on its full declared value, not just the excess.

SARS: "Failure to declare goods, understate values, or submit false documents may result in seizure, prosecution, or penalties" (SC-PA-01-11 Rev 7), and failing to declare "results in the detention and forfeiture of the goods not declared and accompanying goods, imposition of an administrative penalty and/or criminal prosecutions depending on the seriousness of the offence." No rand figure is published on the traveller pages.

Do not buy wildlife souvenirs in South Africa without a permit. It is illegal to buy, sell, kill or capture any protected wild animal or to trade any of its parts without one, and trading ivory or rhino horn is banned outright. Animal and plant products — including skins — are restricted goods needing approval from the relevant authority.

UK FCDO: "Anyone caught buying or trafficking banned goods will be prosecuted." No fine figure or prison term is stated on the FCDO or SARS pages read this run. SARS may detain goods and impose forfeiture, an administrative penalty and/or criminal prosecution for a failure to declare.