The One Form Standing Between Your Client and China
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Published in CIBA / SACCI Business Development, keeping you informed of broader business, economic and SME developments through CIBA's strategic partnership with the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI).
You already know about China's zero-duty window. We covered it under SARS Updates when the scheme came into force. But knowing the duty is zero is not the same as claiming it. Your client only gets the saving if they hold a valid Certificate of Origin. No certificate, no preference. Here is exactly how they get one.
What is actually on the table
South African goods can enter China duty-free until 30 April 2028. The zero duty is not automatic. Your client needs a Certificate of Origin stamped by SARS to prove the goods qualify. SARS started issuing these certificates on 1 June 2026, and claims can be backdated to 1 May 2026. So a client who has already shipped to China since 1 May can still recover the benefit.
Who you should be calling
Any client who sells goods into China, or is close to it. Manufacturers, agro-processors, food and beverage exporters, mining-equipment suppliers, anyone with product moving east. If they export and they have not asked about this, the call should come from you.
How the certificate actually works
This is the part most exporters get stuck on. Walk your client through it.
Use the existing form. Applications go on the SARS form SC-RO-02-A02, the Application for Export Origin Certificates. It is the current form until SARS amends it. No separate scheme registration is needed. Any registered exporter qualifies.
Submit to an authorised branch. Only nine Customs and Excise branches issue and certify these certificates: Alberton / Johannesburg, Cape Town, Cape Town International Airport, Durban, East London, King Shaka International, OR Tambo International Airport, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria. The completed form and supporting documents go to one of these.
The branch issues, then certifies. Once the branch approves the application, it sends a certificate with a unique number. Your client fills in the required fields and returns it to the same office for certification, authentication and origin verification. The certificate is only valid once it has been stamped and signed off.
Record it on the SAD 500. The certificate details must be entered on the SAD 500 under the additional field. Miss this and the clearance can stall.
Backdate if needed. For goods exported since 1 May 2026, apply for retrospective issuance. The benefit is not lost just because the paperwork came later.
One more thing worth flagging to clients: records must be kept for five years for any future SARS verification or audit. And if a client is unsure whether a product even qualifies, they can apply for an origin determination on the same form before they ship.
Please also refer to the SARS SC-RO-02 Administration of Trade Agreements External Policy.
The bigger picture
Every certificate your client lands is a duty saving kept in a South African business, an export order won, and a job protected. That is business development at ground level, and you are the one who makes it happen.
What to do this week
For your client: The scheme runs until 30 April 2028, and exports since 1 May 2026 can still be backdated, so the sooner they apply the sooner the saving lands. Direct branch and technical queries through the SARS scheme page, which lists the issuing-office contacts. For broader export guidance, the DTIC Export Help Desk is at exports@thedtic.gov.za.
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This update was shared with CIBA by [SACCI sender name] of the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Through CIBA's strategic partnership with SACCI, members receive ongoing updates on business, economic and SME-relevant developments, positioning CIBA as the strategic conduit between national business policy and the accountants who serve South Africa's SMEs.
