Important Information
All goods and gifts, acquired
abroad or in any duty-free shop including goods bought
duty free on an aircraft and/or ship are subject to
payment of customs duty and Value Added Tax (VAT), when
brought into Namibia. As a concession however, travellers
may qualify for the following:
- Certain duty-free
allowances.
- A flat rate
assessment; on goods brought into Namibia as Accompanied Baggage.
DUTY-FREE ALLOWANCES:
- Visitors from Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) countries are exempt from paying import customs
duty. Personal effects such as binoculars, cameras, clothing, jewellery
etc. are free of duty for visitors to Namibia. All visitors are allowed
duty free per person:
- Returning residents
should note that goods acquired abroad and sent to
Namibia as Unaccompanied Baggage do not qualify
for any allowances.
- Cigarettes 40
- Cigars 50
- Cigarette or Pipe
tobacco 250 grams
- Wine 2 litres
- Spirits or other
Alcoholic beverages 1 litre
- Perfume 50 ml
- Toilet water 250
ml
- Persons under 18
are not entitled to tobacco and / or alcoholic
beverage
allowances.
- Other new or used
goods to the value of N$ 1250.
- Other new or used
goods (excluding television receiving sets) of a
total value not exceeding N$ 1 250 per
person.
- Additional goods,
new or used, of a total value not exceeding N$ 10
000 per person (excluding goods of a class or kind
specified above, inclusive, of this item). Such
goods, if brought in from: - outside the Common
Customs Area - CCA (more than N$ 1,250 up to N$
10,000) are dutiable at a flat rate of 20% inside
the Common Customs Area - CCA (i.e. Republic of
South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland), are
duty free.
Passage Through
Customs:
NEVER try to hide or mislead Customs officials.
Anything, which is not properly declared, may be
detained.
NEVER bring into Namibia prohibited goods such as
narcotics, illegal drugs in any form, automatic weapons,
military weapons, unnumbered weapons, poison and toxic
substances.
NEVER bring into Namibia any restricted goods such as
endangered species and firearms - provided you are in
possession of the necessary authorisation / permit.
Failure
to comply with the above may result in severe penalties
and / or imprisonment.
At the Airport:
Selection of the RED or GREEN Channel
After passing through Immigration and collecting your
baggage, you may select either the Red or the Green
Channel to pass through Customs Control.
Where the dual channel system is not in operation,
report directly to the Customs official on duty and
declare all goods in your possession.
You may select the GREEN Channel if:
- You only possess
goods that fall within your duty-free allowance.
- You do not have any
prohibited or restricted goods in your possession.
- You do not have
goods, or goods intended for re-sale, in you
possession.
- You do not have
gifts, or gifts carried on behalf of others i.e.
goods sent by persons overseas to persons in
Namibia, in your possession. These goods are subject
to customs duty.
Should you be in doubt of
anything, select the RED CHANNEL.
Border Posts:
If you are entering
Namibia in a vehicle, make sure that all persons
travelling with you know what goods they have to
declare.
All goods subject to Customs duties are to be declared
with the Customs officials.
Duties And
Obligations When Declaring Baggage:
When declaring baggage, whether verbal or written,
you must ensure that you declare ALL goods in your
possession, as well as their correct values.
When Customs officials request you to make a written
declaration, the prescribed declaration form must be
completed.
Registering Goods For Re-Importation Into Namibia:
Personal effects: sporting and recreational
equipment that Namibian citizens take abroad fall within
your duty-free allowances upon your return to Namibia.
In order to prove that certain identifiable items,
specifically valuables such as jewellery, watches,
camera, cine and video cameras, radios, etc., were in
fact taken with you from Namibia; it is necessary that
they be registered for re-importation. Such items should
be produced at your nearest Customs office for
identification and registration before your departure
from Namibia.
Please note that in the event of your valuables not
being identifiable by means of a serial number or
identification mark, the matter should be discussed
timeously with Customs in order to ensure that suitable
identification, e.g., by means of photographs, seals,
etc., is available prior to your departure.
Goods that cannot be identified as goods taken from
Namibia, may qualify for the duty-free allowances of N$
1,250 on "other goods" at the flat rate of 20%.
Should you decide to have jewellery that you took with
you from Namibia remodelled, processed or repaired while
outside Namibia or should you decide to exchange your
jewellery for other jewellery, you must ensure that you
obtain and retain documentary evidence of the
transaction.
Temporary import of vehicles: more information can
be obtained from Namibia Customs: tel: 061 209 9111
(Source, Ministry of Finance, Department of Customs
and Excise Jan 2008)
