A Complete Guide To Shipping Cars From The UK To Botswana

Rules And Regulations For Imported Vehicles In Botswana

When shipping cars from the UK to Botswana,  consider the following Botswana rules and regulations:

1. Age restrictions: Botswana has no age restrictions on any vehicle imports.
2. Right-Hand or Left Hand Drive: Botswana has no regulations on the importation of left-hand drive vehicles despite being a right-hand drive country.

Choosing The Right Shipping Method

Simba Shipping currently offers a wide variety of shipping methods available and among them are:

Roll On Roll Off (or as it is more popularly called RoRo): Picture an underground parking building except it floats. The main advantage of RoRo shipping is that it is the relatively cheaper option of the three. This method is commonly used by car exporters when shipping cars from UK to Botswana in large volumes.

Container Shipping: With container shipping, you get a dedicated container for shipping your car. The general rule of thumb is a single car in a 20 ft container and two in a shared 40 ft container.

Air Freight: This is the most efficient of all shipping methods; however, is quite expensive.

How much does shipping a car to Botswana cost? Prices vary depending on the shipping method, port of loading, the make and model of the vehicle (for Saloon cars and 4by4’s) or the size of the vehicle(for heavy commercial vehicles). Contact us for a quote today.

Ports And Border Posts Used To Import Vehicles To Botswana

Botswana is a landlocked country. To ship cars to Botswana from UK you will need to use either of these ports:

1. Walvis Bay in Namibia
2. Durban in South Africa

From the ports you can use car carriers from Walvis Bay or Durban for on-carriage to the border posts.

Once at the ports we can arrange for on-carriage to Gaborone.

Documents Required For Customs Clearance In Botswana

The documents required for vehicle clearance in Botswana are as follows:

1. Customs Declaration form SAD 500
2. A copy of the logbook
3. Invoice/valuation certificate
4. Bill of Lading

Customs Duty And Taxes In Botswana

In this section the Transaction Value is defined as the price actually paid or payable for the vehicle.

Vehicles imported into Botswana from the UK (or any other country outside the South African Customs Union) to Botswana are subject to a 12% VAT and tariff rates as set out in the Customs and Excise Tariff Schedule.

The amount payable are as follows:

Customs Duty = Transaction Value x Tariff rate

VAT = (Transaction Value + Customs Duty +Insurance +Freight) x 12%

The VAT and customs duty are payable at the time of importation or within a month of importation for traders who have registered to operate deferred account facility with BURS (Botswana Unified Revenue Service).

The assessed customs duty and VAT is payable in Botswana Pula and is payable in cash or bank guaranteed cheques.

Tax Exemptions

Returning Residents

Returning residents are not charged customs duty. However to qualify you need to meet the following conditions:

1. The returning resident has resided outside Botswana for at least 2 years.
2. The vehicle has been owned by the resident for a minimum of 1 years prior to shipping
3. The resident must be in Botswana during customs clearance
4. The vehicle must arrive within 6 months of the resident’s arrival

The following documents are required of returning residents:

1. Passport
2. Import permit issued by the Ministry of Commerce
3. Registration
4. Form IC.2
5. Proof of vehicle ownership and use for at least 1 year
6. Purchase invoice and/or proof of purchase value
7. Police clearance certificate

Temporary  Imports

Vehicles that qualify for temporary imports may remain in Botswana for a period of not more than 14 days after which they are subject to all duties and VAT payable.

All foreign registered vehicles are required to pay a National Road Safety Fund Levy of P40.00 which expires at the end of December of each year.

Foreign registered trucks are charged a Road Transport Permit Levy based on the load of the truck  and are charged for every entry into Botswana.

 

Note: This article means only to serve as a guide and should be used as such. It is important that you verify the facts based on your vehicle and confirm with your clearing agent before shipping your vehicle.

Sources

1. Botswana on Left-hand drive vehicles: https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/posts/response-to-question-in-parliament-left-hand-drive-vehicles-registered-and-used-/2133672670048713/
2. Clearance of motor vehicles: http://www.burs.org.bw/index.php/customsexcisemain/customs-clearance/clearance-of-motor-vehicles
3. Returning residents and tax reliefs: http://www.gov.bw/Visitors/Topics/Entry-Requirements/Entry-Requirements/#08d98ccbd9a7457fb93acc23e38f8a1a
4. Customs Duty and Taxes in Botswana: http://www.burs.org.bw/index.php/customsexcisemain/payments-of-customs-duty-and-import-vat/assessment-and-payment
5. Document required for police clearance: http://www.gov.bw/en/Ministries–Authorities/Ministries/State-President/Botswana-Police-Service-/Public-Education/Police-Clearance-Certificate-Vehicles/?p_id=3277