The South African Post Office now offers an air mail service to 34 countries and surface mail to 51 countries, after dropping Ukraine and Russia from the list recently.

Individuals who order items from other countries should include their cellphone number with their address details so that the Post Office is able to send them an SMS when the item is ready for collection.

According to the South African Government website, individuals who send items to other countries must make sure they do not send anything that is not allowed in the mail, which includes any arms, ammunition, explosives, liquids or items that could break and leak.

“No plant or animal material may be sent to other countries. For more information, visit the website of the postal administration in the receiving country,” it stated on the site.

Mail is transported in bulk, which means people should take care when packing items for dispatch abroad.

The mail service is now available to the following countries:

Air mail: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Rep., Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Maledive, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and United States of America.

Road transport: Botswana, Kingdom of Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Sea transport: Argentina, Ascension, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, Comoros, Czech Rep., Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lesotho, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Netherlands, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Reunion, Romania, Seychelles, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, St Helena, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tristan da Cunha, United Arab Emirates and United States of America.

International items are delivered within an average of 10 workdays. For a quicker service, the Post Office offers the EMS service, which delivers items within 24 hours of arrival in the destination country.

Customers can easily access the electronic customs declaration form on the Post Office website for quick clearance of parcels. The form is under ‘tools’ on their website www.postoffice.co.za(link is external).

South Africans are entitled to two tax-free gifts from abroad per year, provided the value of each gift is below R1 400. For more information, visit the SARS website at https://www.sars.gov.za/customs-and-excise/sending-or-receiving-goods-in-the-post/.