About applying for a permit to import plants and plant products

To import plants and plant products to South Africa, you must apply for import permit issued by the National Plant Protection Organisation of South Africa (NPPOZA). The permit is valid for a year.

You must get phytosanitary import conditions from the Agricultural Pests Act, 1983 (Act No. 36 of 1983) or National Plant Protection Organisation of South Africa (NPPOZA).

If products are not exempted from the import permit, you must complete application form to import the products. If the products are exempted, you must ensure that they complied with phytosanitary measures for such exemption

You must send a copy of the import permit to the exporter /supplier. The National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) of the exporting country must check if the products meet the import requirements of South Africa.

If import requirements are met, the NPPO will issue a phytosanitary certificate. The exporter must send the original phytosanity certificate with the goods to South Africa.

What you should do

• You must complete application form to import controlled goods and send it to: National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPOZA), Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), Private Bag X14, Pretoria  or Harvest House, 25 Hamilton Street, Arcadia, Pretoria 0083
• Pay a prescribed fee electronically or at the department: The bank details are:
  Standard Bank
  Account name: Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries: Import of controlled goods
  Account number: 011251735
  Branch name: Arcadia
  Branch code: 01-08-45
• Send a copy of import permit to the exporter/supplier.
• At the South African port of entry:
• NPPOZA inspectors will inspect the products and the phytosanitary certificate
• If the products comply with import requirements, the products will be released
  

You or your agent must take the import documents to South African Revenue Services (SARS) for final release.

How long does it take

It might take one to 30 days to process your application.

How much does it cost

R75 per permit (maximum of 10 plant genus)

Forms to complete

(Forms are provided in PDF format. To open PDF documents, you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader 4 or higher installed on your computer.)

Application for a permit for the importation of controlled goods

Who to contact

Tel: 012 319 6102/6396/ 6130/ 6383
Fax: 012 319 6370
E-mail: JeremiahMA@daff.gov.za / AnitaSN@daff.gov.za  / ShashikaM@daff.gov.za / BenJK@daff.gov.za
Physical address: Harvest House, 25 Hamilton Street, Arcadia, Pretoria 0083
Postal address: National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPOZA), Department of Agriculture, Private Bag X14, Gezina,0001