Importing 101

[alm]

Hi,

I'm moving back to South Africa finally, after living in London for 4 years.

I am trying to setup a business importing DVDs into South Africa. I have had moderate success running my business in London but since all of my stock was sourced locally, I have never had to deal with importing nuances.

Basically I don't have the first clue on what is required from me now that I am setting up in South Africa but will source my stock internationally. What sort of import taxes/customs levies I would pay, who I need to help me (I've been reading up on "clearing agents" but can't really figure out what exactly they do), what laws I need to be aware of etc...

If anyone could help me out with some answers or perhaps point me in the direction of a web resource I would be much obliged.

I've tried researching the topic this week but everything I can find is geared towards large-scale international companies importing metal and textiles etc... There doesn't seem to be much easily understandable literature geared towards small start-up companies importing cheap goods. And trying to get the Dept of Trade and Industry just to answer the phone is proving harder than I expected.

Let me know if you need any info!

Cheers.