LESOTHO · GUIDE
Lesotho customs & VAT on parcels from South Africa
A factual explainer: how SACU membership, import VAT (15%, Revenue Services Lesotho (RSL)) and border clearance affect a courier parcel from South Africa to Lesotho.
SACU: no customs duty, but still a border
South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini form the Southern African Customs Union (SACU): goods moving between members are normally free of customs duty, but every parcel still crosses a border post with a customs declaration and the importing country charges its own import VAT.
Import VAT
Revenue Services Lesotho (RSL) charges import VAT at 15% on the customs value of goods entering Lesotho. Import VAT is levied at the border on the customs value of the goods; couriers usually pay it and collect it from you on delivery.
What the courier needs
- A commercial invoice describing the goods honestly (we prepare it).
- The recipient's full name, a contactable phone number and a complete physical address.
- Payment of the import VAT, which the courier usually settles at the border and collects from you.
Currency
The loti is pegged 1:1 to the rand through the Common Monetary Area and the rand circulates as legal tender in Lesotho, so our prices read the same in maloti.
Which border your parcel crosses
Maseru Bridge (Maseru, Teyateyaneng), Ficksburg Bridge (Leribe/Maputsoe) and Van Rooyen's Gate (Mafeteng, Mohale's Hoek).
Products we do not ship across borders
For now we do not send GLP-1 compounds, anabolic or hormone lines, or melanotan to any country outside South Africa. This keeps every parcel within routes we can clear reliably.
Important
This page is general information, not tax or legal advice. Rates and rules change — check Revenue Services Lesotho (RSL) for the current position before you order.