Samoa
1.3 Samoa Customs Information

Faleolo International Airport and Apia Port are the main entry points for commodities in Samoa. For these two places, customs can be contacted through the central Customs Department Office in Apia.

Duties and Tax Exemption

For contact information regarding government custom authorities, please follow the link below: 

4.1 Samoa Government Contact List

Emergency Response

 

Agreements / Conventions Description

Ratified by Country?

(Yes / No)

WCO (World Customs Organization) member

Yes

Annex J-5 Revised Kyoto Convention

Yes 

OCHA Model Agreement

No 

Tampere Convention (on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations)

N/a

Regional Agreements (on emergency/disaster response, but also customs unions, regional integration)

Oceania Customs Organisation

PICTA

SPARTECA

Exemption Regular Regime (Non-Emergency Response)


Relative to disaster response, when the state of emergency is declared by the Head of States, aid from UN and other agencies, countries and organisations are exempted from duties and taxes.  The exemption can be granted upon provision the letter from National Disaster Recovery Committee to confirm that this is disaster relief supplies.  The exception will apply to prohibited and restricted items as well as motor vehicles.

 

Organisational Requirements to obtain Duty Free Status

United Nations Agencies

-       The UN Agencies is required to be registered similar to all other importers.

-       The registration will be required with the Inland Revenue Department of the Ministry for Revenue, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Labour for companies and non-profit & non -governmental and Customs for the importer code

-       A letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Ministry of Finance is also required to accompany each shipment dependent of the usage. This is a confirmation on eligibility and the period of which the imported items will be subject to exemption

 

Non-Governmental Organisations

As for UN Agencies (above)

 

Exemption Certificate Document Requirements

Duties and Taxes Exemption Application Procedure

Generalities (include a list of necessary documentation)

 - Appendix 5.2 is the schedule of concessions which also provides conditions and persons who are eligible particularly that of Diplomatic Mission and International Organisations including the UN


 

Exemption Certificate Document Requirements

 

 

 

Duties and Taxes Exemption Certificate Document Requirements (by commodity)

UN & NGO

 

Food

NFI (Shelter, WASH, Education)

Medicines

Vehicle & Spare Parts

Staff & Office Supplies

Telecoms Equipment

Invoice

The requirement is that the commercial invoice is to presented for clearance.  In the absence of the invoice or value for Customs purposes, the goods will be examined and given a value based on the result of the examination.

AWB/BL/Other Transport Documents

The BOL or AWB is the requirement for clearance.  Except in the case of postal package, a confirmation card from the post office is required

Donation/Non-Commercial Certificates

A letter confirming the donation is required from the exporter as a declaration.  An invoice stating donated items and given a value declared for Customs purposes is also sufficient

Packing Lists

Packing list is mandatory for shipments and this is mainly emphasized on clearance of mixed containers and

Other Documents

There is also the requirement for letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade and the Ministry of Finance confirming the eligibility of items for duty concessions

Additional Notes

 


Customs Clearance

General Information 

Customs Information

Document Requirements

The minimum required documents for import are:

  1. Commercial Invoice / Declaration of Value
  2. Bill of Lading / Air waybill
  3. Packing lists

Embargoes

None

Prohibited Items

-Drugs and precursors

-Spirits of more than 40% alcohol volume

-Honey

- Firearms of a specific type

*the list is made available in Schedule 1 of the Customs Act 2014

 

General Restrictions

Firearms of a particular type

Quarantine items

Customs Clearance Document Requirements

 

Customs Clearance Document Requirements (by commodity) for UN & NGO

 

Food

NFI  (Shelter, WASH, Education)

Medicines

Vehicles  &  Spare Parts

Staff  & Office Supplies

Telecoms Equipment

D&T Exemption Certificate

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Invoice

Yes Original

Yes Original

Yes Original

Yes Original

Yes Original

Yes Original

AWB/BL/Other Transport Documents

Bill of lading, Certificate of Origin, Cargo Manifesto

Bill of lading, Certificate of Origin, Cargo Manifesto

Bill of lading, Certificate of Origin, Cargo Manifesto

Bill of lading, Certificate of Origin, Cargo Manifesto

Bill of lading, Certificate of Origin, Cargo Manifesto

Bill of lading, Certificate of Origin, Cargo Manifesto

Donation/Non-Commercial Certificates

Yes Original

Yes Original

Yes Original

Yes Original

Yes Original

Yes Original

Packing Lists

Packing list / container list, Yes, Original

Packing list / container list, Yes, Original

Packing list / container list, Yes, Original

Packing list / container list, Yes, Original

Packing list / container list, Yes, Original

Packing list / container list, Yes, Original

Phytosanitary Certificate

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

Other Documents

Quatantine

n/a

Ministry of Health approval is required for restricted medicines prior to importation

n/a

n/a

n/a

Additional Notes

 

 

 

Samoa Customs Additional Information

 International assistance request Procedures

Requests for international assistance can only be submitted to aid agencies and donors by the National Disaster Council when it becomes clear that the situation at hand is beyond the capabilities of the existing national resources. The DAC will centralise all agencies’ needs, and will advise the NDC accordingly. When a formal request for assistance has been approved by NDC, the Aid Co-ordination Committee - through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade - will be responsible for liaising directly with international aid agencies and donors to solicit and garner requested assistance.

Upon arrival, the Aid Coordination Committee will facilitate the clearance process and ensure the proper distribution of all relief assistance. The distribution of aid to communities will be coordinated by the DAC, in accordance with the findings of the detailed needs assessments that were carried out. The Aid Co-ordination committee through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is responsible for providing information on donors’ assistance to border control agencies including Samoa Airport Authority, Samoa Ports Authority, Ministry of Revenue (Customs) and the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries to facilitate the necessary arrangements for clearance of all donors’ assistance being provided for disaster relief purposes. This information is to include details on the type, quantity, source and means of transportation, arrival point, and estimated time of arrival of such assistance.

Goods purchased locally with disaster relief funding are to be exempt of duty but subject to the decision by the NDC in consultation with DAC.

Transit Regime

The concept of transit does not apply in the context of Samoa.

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