China Zero Duty: Clearance Date Decides
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On 13 August 2026 SARS confirmed which shipments qualify for China's zero-tariff preference and when a certificate of origin can be issued after the goods have already left South Africa.
Point one: the clearance date is the test
SARS confirmed on 13 August 2026 that zero-tariff treatment applies to goods cleared through the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC) on or after 00:00 Beijing time on 1 May 2026.
The date the goods left South Africa does not decide it. The GACC clearance date does. Meet that date, meet the origin rules, and the consignment qualifies.
Stock that reached China and went into a bonded warehouse before 1 May 2026 also qualifies, provided it is entered for home consumption in China on or after 1 May 2026 and meets all other origin requirements.
Point two: the certificate can be backdated
Rule 46A6.13(e) of the Customs and Excise Act No. 91 of 1964, as amended, allows a certificate of origin to be issued after the fact, within one year of the date of shipment. It must carry the words "ISSUED RETROSPECTIVELY" and it stays valid for one year from the shipment date.
The rule applies where no certificate was issued before or at the time of shipment because of force majeure, involuntary errors, omissions or other valid causes. That includes the certificates simply not being available from SARS at the time, which is what happened to exporters who shipped in May.
SARS has confirmed it will issue and certify these retrospective certificates for goods cleared in China on or after 1 May 2026, provided all origin requirements are met.
Why this is billable work
Citrus growers, wine and macadamia exporters, food processors and mining equipment suppliers all had product on the water through April and May. Any client whose goods cleared GACC on or after 1 May has duty to recover on shipments that have already sailed. Where the Chinese importer lodged a deposit with customs pending the paperwork, the retrospective certificate releases that cash back into the client's working capital.
None of it happens on its own. Someone has to pull the clearance dates, match them to shipments, and get the applications in. That someone can be you, at a fee, using the same walkthrough we published on getting a certificate stamped by SARS.
What to do this week
Ask every exporting client for their GACC clearance dates since 1 May 2026, not their bill of lading dates. The two tell different stories.
Where a shipment cleared on or after 1 May 2026 without a certificate, apply for a retrospective certificate. The one-year clock runs from the shipment date, so the April and May consignments are the urgent ones.
Check bonded warehouse stock in China. Entry for home consumption from 1 May 2026 still qualifies.
Confirm the product-specific rules of origin before you promise a client anything. No origin compliance, no preference, however good the dates look.
