1.3 Samoa Customs Information | Digital Logistics Capacity Assessments

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: 

https://www.revenue.gov.ws/home/our-services/customs-services/customs-procedures/

Emergency Response:

In the following table, state which of the following agreements and conventions apply to the country and if there are any other existing ones

Agreements / Conventions Description	Ratified by Country? (Yes / No)
WCO (World Customs Organization) member	Yes 01 October 2001
Annex J-5 Revised Kyoto Convention	Yes 27 October 2016
OCHA Model Agreement	No
Tampere Convention (on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations)	No
Regional Agreements (on emergency/disaster response, but also customs unions, regional integration)	Yes Oceania Customs Organisation PICTA SPARTECA

Exemption Regular Regime (Non-Emergency Response): 

[Note: This section should contain information on the usual duties & taxes exemption regime during non-emergency times, when there is no declared state of emergency and no streamlines process (e.g. regular importations/development/etc.).]

Samoa laws provide for exemptions in customs, import and tax applicable to States and International organisations which may provide disaster relief to Samoa. The Customs Act 2014 allows the Minister of Revenue upon the advice of the Comptroller of Customs to exempt specified goods or goods of a specified class from the requirements of section 60 of the Customs Act 2014. Section 60 governs the entry of imported goods into Samoa.

The Minister of Revenue may act on the advice of the Comptroller and suspend or create exemptions from duty or excise duty in respect of goods or classes of goods imported into Samoa supplied for the sole use of organisations established in Samoa by agreement between Governments or with the United Nations.

The Second Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act 1975 provides concessions to organisations or committees as approved by Cabinet which provide approved material for disaster relief. Both import and excise duties are free, although VAGST of 15% still applies. Approval by the Comptroller of Customs is still required before the concession is used. There is also available a general power for the Minister of Revenue to refund, remit or waive any fee, charge, or expense in whole or in part by issuing an Order acting on the advice of the Comptroller. In relation to VAGST, the supply of goods and services shall be exempt from tax if donated goods and services are supplied by a non-profit body, or through an overseas funded aid project for the benefit of Government or a public authority if so specified.

32. Diplomatic missions and International Agreements - (1)

The Commissioner may, on application and subject to conditions, refund all or part of the GST paid to a taxable supply pursuant to and to the extent required under the Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities Act 1978.

(2) The application under subsection (1) must be:

(a) made in the approved form and in the prescribed manner; and

(b) accompanied by any supporting documentation as the Commissioner may require including but not limited to -

(i) evidence that the GST for which the refund is sought was paid; and

(ii) evidence of the applicant’s entitlement to make an application under subsection (1).(Part 8 – GST Period and Refunds- Value Added Goods and Services Tax 2015)

Organizational 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 Organizations

  The NGOs is required to be registered similar to all other importers.

Exemption Certificate Application Procedure: 

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

Process to be followed (step by step or flowchart)

image-20240828152842-1  

Exemption Certificate Document Requirements

Duties and Taxes Exemption Certificate Document Requirements (by commodity)
	Food	NFI (Shelter, WASH, Education)	Medicines	Vehicle & Spare Parts	Staff & Office Supplies	Telecoms Equipment
Invoice	The requirement is that the commercial invoice is 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 Bill of Landing (BOL) or Air Waybill (AWB) is the requirement for clearance. Except in the cased 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 cartons/boxes.
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: Commercial Invoice / Declaration of Value Bill of Lading / Air waybill 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, ammunition, explosives, drugs, and indecent publications of any kind are prohibited.

Customs Clearance Document Requirements

Customs Clearance Document Requirements (by commodity)
	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 Landing, Certificate of Origin, Cargo Manifesto	Bill of Landing, Certificate of Origin, Cargo Manifesto	Bill of Landing, Certificate of Origin, Cargo Manifesto	Bill of Landing, Certificate of Origin, Cargo Manifesto	Bill of Landing, Certificate of Origin, Cargo Manifesto	Bill of Landing, 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	Quarantine	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.

Code No.

Personal/Bodies

Good Eligible for Duty

Concession

Import

Duty

Excise

Rates

VAGST

Conditions

Certificate to be signed by

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

117

An Organization or Committee approval by Cabinet.

Approval material for disaster relief

Free

15%

Goods are –

(a) intended for relief of a

declared state of disaster,

(b) received free of charge

or for no more than freight

and other incidental

transport charges.

Nations or a Foreign

Government or any

Agency of the United

Nations or a Foreign

Government, or other

Organizations

As may be approved by the Comptroller

(Source: Second Schedule Part A Article 117 - An Organization or Committee approved by Cabinet – Disaster Relief)

Outlined on the table above indicate that for clearance of imported relief items will not pay excise duty, the value-added goods and services tax will remain at 15% of the total cost of the good.

Transit Regime

Any goods or items that needs to be transported to Tokelau Islands will be cleared by the Samoa Customs and Revenue. This will be carried out at the Apia Port modes of transport to Tokelau is only by sea transport.