Custom System Enhancements for the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and Mozambique (SACUM) and the United Kingdom(UK) (SACUM-UK) Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)

Until December 31, 2020, goods exported from Southern African Customs Union (SACU) member states (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland) and Mozambique to the United Kingdom (UK) were covered by an agreement called the Southern African Development Community-European Union Economic Partnership Agreement (SADC-EU EPA).

From January 1, 2021, these goods are now traded under a new agreement called the SACUM-UK EPA, which was negotiated and concluded when the UK was still part of the European Union (EU). After Brexit, the UK decided to have new trade agreements with its partners, and the SACUM-UK EPA is one such agreement. In this new agreement, the tariffs for both the UK and SACUM have been transitioned from the old SADC-EU EPA without any changes. This means that the tariff preferences applied by the UK to goods from SACUM will remain the same as those previously applied by the EU, and vice versa.

The system went live with the enhancements on the 14 July 2023 and traders can now register and lodge customs declarations under the SACUM-UK EPA as well as the SADC-EU EPA. It’s important for traders to be aware of the distinction between the two agreements and make sure they use the correct certificates of origin for their exports to the UK or EU. Those who were previously approved exporters to the UK under the SADC-EU EPA will need to reapply and register under the SACUM-UK EPA, and the old certificates of origin acquired under the SADC-EU EPA won’t be valid for use in the new agreement.

Read the SARS communication on the system changes here.