Section VI · 11 chapters

Products of the chemical & allied industries

South African import duty, VAT and classification for everything in this part of the tariff

Section VI at a glance

HS section
VI — Products of the chemical & allied industries
Chapters
28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38
Tariff headings
179 (923 subheadings)
General customs duty
0% – 20%
Import VAT
15% on the added tax value (ATV)
Duty pages published
21

As at 2026-08-06. Source: SARS Tariff Book, Schedule 1 Part 1.

Section VI of the Harmonised System covers products of the chemical & allied industries, spread across 11 chapters and 179 tariff headings. Pick the chapter your product falls in to see every heading and subheading, or jump straight to one of the duty pages below.

Chapters in this section

28 Inorganic chemicals; rare-earth & radioactive compounds
50 headings 1 29 Organic chemicals
42 headings 1 30 Pharmaceutical products
6 headings 2 31 Fertilisers
5 headings 1 32 Tanning & dyeing extracts; paints, inks & pigments
15 headings 4 33 Essential oils, perfumery, cosmetics & toiletries
7 headings 6 34 Soap, waxes, polishes & candles
7 headings 4 35 Albuminoidal substances; glues & enzymes
7 headings 1 36 Explosives, matches & pyrotechnics
6 headings 37 Photographic & cinematographic goods
7 headings 38 Miscellaneous chemical products
27 headings 1

Duty pages in Section VI

2836.20 Soda ash (disodium carbonate) 5.5% duty + 15% VAT 2933.69 Cyanuric acid & chlorinated isocyanurates (pool chemicals) 10% duty + 15% VAT 3002.15 Immunological products (vaccines & sera) 0% duty + 15% VAT 3004.90 Medicaments put up for retail sale 0% duty + 15% VAT 3105.20 Mineral or chemical fertilisers (NPK) 0% duty + 15% VAT 3208.90 Paints & varnishes (solvent-based) 10% duty + 15% VAT 3209.10 Paints (water-based, acrylic) 10% duty + 15% VAT 3214.10 Mastics, fillers & glazing sealants 0% duty + 15% VAT 3215.19 Printing inks 0% duty + 15% VAT 3303.00 Perfumes & eau de toilette 20% duty + 15% VAT 3304.10 Lip make-up preparations 20% duty + 15% VAT 3304.99 Beauty, make-up & skincare preparations 20% duty + 15% VAT 3305.10 Shampoos 20% duty + 15% VAT 3306.10 Dentifrices (toothpaste) 10% duty + 15% VAT 3307.20 Deodorants & antiperspirants 20% duty + 15% VAT 3401.11 Soap & organic surface-active products (toilet use) 20% duty + 15% VAT 3401.20 Soap in other forms (liquid, flakes, paste) 20% duty + 15% VAT 3402 Detergents & cleaning preparations (retail) 20% duty + 15% VAT 3406.00 Candles, tapers & the like 20% duty + 15% VAT 3506.10 Prepared glues & adhesives (retail ≤1 kg) 0% duty + 15% VAT 3808.91 Insecticides (put up for retail) 0% duty + 15% VAT
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