What are trade agreements and how do they work on TUNL?

What are trade agreements and how do they work on TUNL?

South Africa has trade agreements with the EU, UK, and EFTA states that allow SA-origin goods to enter those markets at 0% import duty. They're called:

• EU-SADC EPA (EU–Southern African Development Community Economic Partnership Agreement) — covers exports to all EU member states
• UK-SACUM EPA (UK–Southern African Customs Union and Mozambique) — covers exports to the UK
• EFTA-SACU FTA (European Free Trade Association–Southern African Customs Union Free Trade Agreement) — covers exports to Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein

Once you're registered with SARS and your certificate is approved on TUNL, the trade agreement applies automatically at every eligible booking. You don't need to do anything per shipment.

Do I qualify?

To use trade agreements through TUNL, your shipment must meet all of the following:

If your shipment includes any goods that are not SA-origin (e.g. items manufactured in China), the trade agreement will not apply to that shipment. You can consider splitting the shipment if some items qualify.

How much can I save?

Trade agreements eliminate import duties on qualifying shipments — duties drop to 0%.
TUNL's fee: 20% of the duties saved, shown clearly at booking before you confirm. You keep the other 80%.

Example: A €2,000 shipment of multiple pairs of footwear to the EU normally attracts import duty at 5% — that's €100 in duties (VAT is separate and still applies). With a trade agreement applied:

• Duties: €0
• TUNL fee: €20 (20% of €100 saved)
• Your saving: €80

The TUNL fee is charged at booking in addition to standard carrier fees and any landed cost fees. Your saving and the fee are shown as separate line items before you confirm.

How to get registered with SARS

You need to hold a SARS Trade Agreement Registration Certificate for each agreement you want to use:

• An "Exporter for SADC-EPA (local)" certificate for EU shipments
• The equivalent UK-SACUM certificate for UK shipments
• The equivalent EFTA-SACU certificate for Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein shipments

These are separate registrations, but you can apply for all three at the same time.
The SARS certificate is issued free of charge. The process involves amending your existing SARS exporter profile to add each trade agreement.

Choose the path that works for you:

Option A — Do it yourself (free)

You can apply directly to SARS at no cost. The process:
If you already have a SARS customs client number (importer/exporter code):

1. Log in to SARS eFiling
2. Go to your customs profile and apply to amend your exporter registration
3. Select "Add Trade Agreement" → "SADC-EU" (for EU), "UK-SACUM" (for UK), or "EFTA-SACU" (for Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein)
4. Submit supporting documentation: proof of SA origin for your goods (e.g. supplier invoices, manufacturing details)
5. SARS issues the certificate — typically within a couple of days

If you don't have a SARS customs client number yet:

1. First register with SARS as an exporter to get your customs client number
2. Once registered, follow the steps above to add the trade agreement amendment

For a full step-by-step guide with screenshots, see: How to register for trade agreements on SARS eFiling

Option B — Use our registration partner (easiest)

Import Export License importexportlicense.co.za
Import Export License handles the full SARS amendment process for you, including preparing the application and submitting to SARS on your behalf.

• Cost: R2,500 for your first trade agreement (typically EU-SADC), then R500 for each additional agreement (UK-SACUM, EFTA-SACU). All three for R3,500.
• Discount: Use code TUNL for 15% off

What to do once you have your certificate

1. Go to Settings → Trade Agreements in your TUNL account (app.tunl.to/settings/trade-agreements)
2. Upload your SARS Registration Certificate (PDF)
3. Submit for review — TUNL's ops team will review and approve within 2 business days
4. You'll receive a confirmation email once your certificate is approved and your trade agreement is active

You can upload certificates for EU, UK, and EFTA separately. Each shows its status (Pending / Approved / Rejected) in your settings.
Once approved, your trade agreement applies automatically at every eligible booking. No per-shipment action needed.

How TUNL applies the trade agreement at booking

When you create a booking that meets all eligibility conditions, TUNL will:

1. Detect eligibility automatically — destination, carrier, value, and your registration status
2. Apply the trade agreement — import duties drop to 0% in your booking summary
3. Show you the saving and the TUNL fee (20% of duties saved) as separate line items before you confirm
4. Generate a commercial invoice with the correct declaration of preferential origin — required by customs for the agreement to be applied at destination
5. Send the declaration digitally to FedEx alongside the shipment — you don't need to print or attach anything

You can opt out of the trade agreement on any individual shipment by unchecking the option at booking. If you opt out, the shipment is processed as normal.
Shopify and WooCommerce live rates: If you use TUNL's live rates integration, there is an option to apply the duty-free rate plus TUNL fee to be shown to your customers at checkout on qualifying EU, UK, and EFTA orders — so the rate they see always matches what you pay at booking.

FAQs

Do I need to register separately for EU, UK, and EFTA?
Yes. EU-SADC EPA, UK-SACUM, and EFTA-SACU are separate SARS registrations. You can apply for all three at the same time. Once you have each certificate, upload them separately in TUNL Settings. Each applies only to the relevant destination: EU-SADC EPA for EU countries, UK-SACUM for the UK, EFTA-SACU for Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.

How long does SARS registration take?
The DIY path on SARS eFiling is fast — recent merchants have had their certificate issued within a couple of days. If you use Import Export License, turnaround depends on SARS processing on their side. Either way, we'd encourage you to get started as soon as possible — especially before July 1, 2026, when the EU de minimis duty exemption is removed.

Is the SARS certificate free?
Yes — SARS issues the Trade Agreement Registration Certificate free of charge. If you use Import Export License to handle the application on your behalf, there's a service fee of R2,500 for your first agreement and R500 for each additional one (15% off with code TUNL).

What if some of my products aren't SA-origin?
If any item in the shipment is not of South African origin, the trade agreement will not apply to that shipment. All goods must be SA-origin for the agreement to be used.
If you regularly ship a mix of SA and non-SA goods, consider splitting your orders so SA-origin items ship separately — they'll qualify for the trade agreement, non-SA items won't.

What about shipments over €6,000 (or £6,000)?
Shipments above these thresholds require a physically stamped EUR.1 certificate from SARS — a different document and process. This is not supported in the current version of TUNL's trade agreements feature. If you regularly ship above these values and want to use trade agreements, contact us and we'll help you understand your options.

Does this work with UPS?
Not yet. The current version of TUNL's trade agreements feature supports FedEx shipments only. UPS support is being planned for a future release.

Does this work for DAP shipments?
Yes. The trade agreement applies equally to DDP and DAP shipments. On DDP, duties are eliminated from the landed cost you pay upfront. On DAP, your customer would otherwise pay duties at delivery — the trade agreement eliminates those charges, which can reduce refused deliveries and improve your customer experience. The TUNL fee (20% of duties saved) is the same for both.

What happens if FedEx doesn't apply the agreement at destination?
TUNL guarantees the outcome. If FedEx fails to apply the trade agreement and duties are charged at destination, TUNL will cover the resulting duty charge and dispute it with FedEx on your behalf. Contact us at support@tunl.to if this happens.

Why does TUNL charge a fee?
The SARS registration certificate itself is free. TUNL's fee covers the work of verifying your registration, generating the correct customs declaration on every eligible shipment, managing document delivery to FedEx, and guaranteeing the outcome if anything goes wrong. The fee is 20% of the duties saved — you keep 80%.

Can I see how much I've saved over time?
Savings and fees are shown at booking for each shipment. Consolidated savings reporting across all shipments is coming in a future update.

Still have questions?

Reply to any of our trade agreements emails or contact support at support@tunl.to. We're happy to help you figure out whether you qualify and how to get started.

Updated on: 01/07/2026