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Very small importing - clearing agents required?
Hi guys
I identified a gap in the market for a particular type of goods and began bringing these into the country last year. I do about 4 orders a year. These a small orders e.g. a shoe box sized box with eyewear, value less than R5000. I order the goods from my supplier, pay for everything incl. shipping (sent via airmail), and when the goods get here I go to CapeMail to get them, they worked out VAT and duties, I pay, I go home,... happiness.
Recently I've been told that I need to register as an importer and get a clearing agent. I've applied for registration as an importer with SARS but want to know if I really need a clearing agent. The problem is that agent's seem to cater for those doing large scale importing, at my level the price of the agent makes the whole exercise pointless. I did notice that when I filled out the SARS application to register as an importer there was an option to tick "Self" for clearing services. This leads me to believe that I can indeed do this on my own. Does anybody have any experiece or advice on this matter?
Cheers
Ria
I identified a gap in the market for a particular type of goods and began bringing these into the country last year. I do about 4 orders a year. These a small orders e.g. a shoe box sized box with eyewear, value less than R5000. I order the goods from my supplier, pay for everything incl. shipping (sent via airmail), and when the goods get here I go to CapeMail to get them, they worked out VAT and duties, I pay, I go home,... happiness.
Recently I've been told that I need to register as an importer and get a clearing agent. I've applied for registration as an importer with SARS but want to know if I really need a clearing agent. The problem is that agent's seem to cater for those doing large scale importing, at my level the price of the agent makes the whole exercise pointless. I did notice that when I filled out the SARS application to register as an importer there was an option to tick "Self" for clearing services. This leads me to believe that I can indeed do this on my own. Does anybody have any experiece or advice on this matter?
Cheers
Ria
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