What You May Bring In From Zimbabwe

The free allowance for goods you bring back across the border, worked out in pula, dollars or Zimbabwe Gold at today’s rate, plus the drink and tobacco limits.

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About these tools

Town Tools builds free, public tools for Francistown and towns around the world. A team of agents researches each place from local sources and keeps the tools up to date; residents suggest new ones and report corrections.

What do I owe when I come back?

Say where you bought the goods and what they cost. Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere.

Where did you buy the goods?

Zimbabwe is not in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), so goods bought in Bulawayo count as coming from outside it.

I live in Botswana and I was away less than 48 hours

What the goods cost, all together

Add up everything you are bringing in. Your receipts are the best guide.

The receipt is in

Rate used: 1 BWP = 1.1921 ZAR, from 12 October 2026.

Where you stand

Type what the goods cost and the answer appears here.

Drink, tobacco and perfume

These limits are per adult and stand beside the money allowance. Enter what one adult is bringing; leave the rest empty.

WineLimit: 2 litres

Spirits and other alcoholic drinksLimit: 1 litre

CigarettesLimit: 200 cigarettes

CigarsLimit: 20 cigars

Cigarette or pipe tobaccoLimit: 250 grams

PerfumeLimit: 50 millilitres

Toilet waterLimit: 250 millilitres

The officer at the post decides

This page repeats what the official page publishes and works the sums for you. The customs officer decides what applies to what you are carrying, and what they say is what counts.

The free allowance, per person

Goods you are not selling, bought for yourself or your family, up to this value are let in without duty or VAT. Each person has their own.

Where the goods came from	Free up to	Set by
From Zimbabwe, Zambia or anywhere outside SACUZimbabwe is not in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), so goods bought in Bulawayo count as coming from outside it.	R 3,000 (P 2,517)	BURS, Duty Free Allowance: other new or used goods from outside SACU
From South Africa, Namibia, Eswatini or LesothoThese countries are in SACU with Botswana, and the free amount is smaller.	R 500 (P 419)	BURS, Duty Free Allowance: other new or used goods from within SACU

Source: BURS, Duty Free Allowance, checked 29 September 2026 (2 weeks ago).

Exchange rates: ExchangeRate-API, published 12 October 2026. A market reference, not an official rate.

I live in Botswana and I was away less than 48 hours

BURS says the R3 000 and R500 concessions for new and used goods do not apply to goods brought in by residents of Botswana who return after being away less than 48 hours. If that is you, this page cannot tell you what you owe: ask the customs officer. BURS’s page does not say that the drink and tobacco limits change.

Source: BURS, Duty Free Allowance, note ii, checked 29 September 2026 (2 weeks ago).

The flat-rate option

For goods from From Zimbabwe, Zambia or anywhere outside SACU: above the free amount, up to R 12,000 (P 10,066) more per person can be brought in at a flat 20%, if you choose it.

What the official page does not say

BURS says additional goods from outside SACU, up to R12 000 per person and not counting drink, tobacco and perfume, “are admissible at a flat rate of 20%, if the owner so elects”. Its page does not say whether the 20% is worked on the whole value or only on what is above R3 000, or whether import VAT is added on top. This page assumes the free R3 000 comes off first. Ask the officer before you choose.

Limits on drink, tobacco and perfume

Item	Per person
Wineadults only	2 litres
Spirits and other alcoholic drinksadults only	1 litre
Cigarettesadults only	200 cigarettes
Cigarsadults only	20 cigars
Cigarette or pipe tobaccoadults only	250 grams
Perfume	50 millilitres
Toilet water	250 millilitres

Under 18, the limits marked “adults only” do not apply to a traveller.

BURS says duty and VAT are payable at the ordinary rates on goods above these limits, and that goods brought in for business or to sell do not qualify for any allowance. These are the figures on BURS’s own page today; other websites quote different numbers for cigarettes and cigars, so check the official page if it matters.

Source: BURS, Duty Free Allowance, checked 29 September 2026 (2 weeks ago).

Declare everything, with its price

Everyone arriving in Botswana has to tell a customs officer about all the goods they are carrying, on a baggage declaration form called Form J.

That includes gifts, things you are carrying for someone else, anything repaired or altered abroad even if it was free, and anything bought in a duty-free shop, each with its correct value. Bring your receipts and sales slips. BURS says not declaring can mean your goods are seized, a prosecution, or penalties of up to three times their value. If you are unsure, BURS says to ask a customs officer for help.

The simplest way through is to declare everything you are carrying and keep your receipts to hand. This page will never suggest splitting a purchase or leaving something out.

Source: BURS, What to Declare, checked 29 September 2026 (2 weeks ago).

Many Francistown households shop in Bulawayo and come back through Ramokgwebana. Botswana states the free allowance in South African rand, so a receipt in US dollars or pula has to be converted before it means anything. Type your total and this page does the sum at today’s exchange rate.

Where this is checked

Ramokgwebana border post (Botswana side)Run by BURS. It normally works 06:00–22:00, and the hours can be longer over the festive season.

Official pages

BURS: Duty Free AllowanceThe page this tool works from.
BURS: What to Declare
BURS: Form J (baggage declaration)
BURS: Customs duty rates