NAMIBIA · GUIDE
Namibia customs & VAT on parcels from South Africa
A factual explainer: how SACU membership, import VAT (15%, Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA)) and border clearance affect a courier parcel from South Africa to Namibia.
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
Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) charges import VAT at 15% on the customs value of goods entering Namibia. Import VAT is levied at the border on the customs value of the goods. Couriers usually pay it on your behalf and collect it before delivery, sometimes with a small disbursement fee.
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 Namibian dollar is pegged 1:1 to the rand through the Common Monetary Area, and the rand is also legal tender in Namibia, so our rand prices read the same in N$.
Which border your parcel crosses
Parcels from Johannesburg normally travel the Trans-Kalahari corridor (into Botswana at Skilpadshek/Pioneer Gate, into Namibia at Mamuno/Trans-Kalahari) or via Upington and the Nakop/Ariamsvlei post — the courier chooses the route.
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 Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) for the current position before you order.