In general, goods imported into Botswana from outside the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), which includes Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Eswatini, attract customs duties at rates outlined in the Customs Tariff Book.  Customs duties are paid against a prescribed form (SAD 500), which is a declaration form, formally known as a bill of entry.  A tariff book and goods codebook is available electronically on the Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS) website.  Botswana applies different tariffs on different products with textiles, clothing, beverages, and tobacco receiving the highest tariffs.

The Southern Africa Development Corporation (SADC) is an inter-governmental regional organization that promotes socio-economic cooperation and integration, and political and security cooperation among its 16 member states.  The SADC Free Trade Area (FTA) was launched in August 2008 with the aim of removing trade barriers to allow for free trade of goods and services. In November 2022, SADC reported a positive progress in the implementation of the FTA, and that 13 out of 16 member states are already implementing the FTA.  The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Comoros are yet to join the SADC FTA while Angola submitted its tariff offer in 2021. 

The Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS), assisted by USAID’s Southern African Trade and Investment Hub, developed an amendment to the Customs and Excise Duty Act adopted in 2018 with the goal to streamline procedures and to lower import and export costs.