SARS amended South Africa's Prohibited and Restricted Imports and Exports list on 2022-03-23 to add both import and export licensing requirements — administered with the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy — covering uranium ores and concentrates (HS 2612.10), molybdenum ores and concentrates (HS 2613.10), depleted-uranium transport containers and isotope projectors (HS 2844.10/20/30/40, 9022.19), nuclear-grade graphite, graphite blocks and graphite electrodes (HS 8545.11/19). Both directions of trade in these items now require a permit rather than moving freely across South African borders.

Analyst notesShow

Mechanism

South Africa controls trade in sensitive goods through a single consolidated customs instrument — the Prohibited and Restricted Imports and Exports list — administered by SARS jointly with the relevant sectoral regulator (here, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy for nuclear-related items). Rather than a standalone gazetted notice, SARS maintains this as a living list and publishes dated additions on its own "What's New" changelog page, which is the primary source cited here; the 2022-03-23 entry is the specific change GTA logged as state act 66820.

The addition covers two related but distinct chokepoints:

1. Nuclear-fuel-cycle inputs and equipment — uranium ore/concentrate, depleted-uranium transport containers and isotope projectors, now requiring an import or export permit in either direction. 2. Molybdenum ore/concentrate and nuclear-grade graphite — graphite is a dual-use nuclear moderator/reflector material as well as a battery-anode input; molybdenum has both metallurgical and reactor-component uses.

Both import and export directions were licensed simultaneously, consistent with a non-proliferation/dual-use control rationale rather than a resource- nationalist export restriction.

Downstream implications

Adds a South African licensing checkpoint to global nuclear-fuel-cycle and

graphite-electrode supply chains, alongside comparable uranium/nuclear- material import licensing regimes already in this register (e.g. the UK's 2020-12-31 nuclear materials import licence).

South Africa is a graphite/molybdenum-relevant jurisdiction; firms sourcing

nuclear-grade graphite or moving depleted-uranium transport containers through South African customs now carry a permit-timing risk on both legs of the trade.

Open questions

Whether this list amendment was itself gazetted separately (a formal

Government Gazette notice number) beyond the SARS changelog entry cited here — not located within the search budget for this filing.

Full underlying HS-line detail beyond the categories summarized on the

SARS changelog page.

Sources

Primary: SARS — Prohibited and Restricted Imports and Exports list, What's New (23 March 2022 entry)

Secondary: Global Trade Alert state act 66820 (South Africa — inclusion of additional products in the Prohibited and Restricted Imports and Exports list)

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