CHINESE IMPORTS: PRE-EXPORT VERIFICATION PROGRAMME EXPLAINED

CHINESE IMPORTS: PRE-EXPORT VERIFICATION PROGRAMME EXPLAINED

• 07 April 2026
• Trade, Industry & Competition
• SA Legal Academy

Please note: On 22 September 2026, the department gazetted a notice withdrawing the ministerial directive with immediate effect. No explanation was provided. According to the notice: 1) ‘no certificate of conformity ... (is now) required under the withdrawn directive as supporting documentation for the importation of products that fell within its scope’; 2) henceforth, ‘no new application for a certificate of conformity shall be accepted or processed under the withdrawn directive’; 3) ‘any application that remains pending ... shall be (deemed) administratively closed, and the applicant ... notified accordingly’.

The Department of Trade, Industry & Competition has clarified the implications of a 20 March 2026 ministerial directive affecting imported goods from the People’s Republic of China. The directive was gazetted without the annexure to which it referred – prompting SA Legal Academy Policy Watch to approach the department for more information, which has now been provided.

Announcing the imminent implementation of a ‘pre-export verification of conformity programme for certain unregulated products’ originating in that country, the directive is scheduled to come into force on 20 September 2026 – allowing affected importers six months to make the necessary arrangements. The directive:

• will then apply only to products listed in Annexure A that are not already subject to National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications or sector-specific regulatory requirements, and
• is thus expected to enhance consumer protection, safety, and quality assurance in keeping with ‘legitimate public policy objectives’.

Published by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) on a dedicated website page with supporting documents, Annexure A will be updated periodically.

Among other things, the supporting documents note that:

• the programme is being piloted in liaison with the People’s Republic of China as ‘one of South Africa's largest sources of imported consumer goods’, and that
• during the six-month transitional period, the SABS will host various awareness-raising activities including webinars and workshops.

Please click the links below for more details:

• ministerial directive
• Annexure A
• website page
• background information and context
• FAQs

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

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