Business type: retail and online selling

Read Core: applies to everyone first. This file adds the rules that apply when you sell physical products.

This covers a shop, a market stall, an online store, an Instagram shop, and selling on Takealot or Facebook Marketplace.

Do you need a licence

Usually not, if you sell ordinary goods like clothing, homeware, stationery, gifts, or accessories.

You do need one if you sell food. See Food business.

Food retail, meaning any business that sells, prepares, or handles food for sale to the public, including spaza shops, requires a municipal trading licence under the Businesses Act.

A general trader's licence is still required by some municipalities for a fixed shop. Ask your municipal Business Licensing office. Market stalls usually need a trading permit from the market or the municipality rather than a business licence.

If you sell second-hand goods

This catches more people than expected. Buying used items to resell makes you a dealer.

The Second-Hand Goods Act 6 of 2009 mandates that dealers register with SAPS, keep detailed registers of transactions for five years, verify supplier identities, and report suspected stolen items. The Act applies to businesses dealing in used items worth over R100.

The principal business activities that must register include an Auctioneer, General Dealer, Jeweller, Motor Vehicle Dealer and Scrap metal Dealer.

If you flip used phones, laptops, furniture, jewellery, or vintage clothing, this applies to you. Registration is free through the SAPS 601 form at your local station.

Selling online

Two laws apply on top of everything else: the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002.

What must appear on your site

Section 43 of ECTA requires suppliers to disclose the full price of goods or services including additional costs, and to provide information on their legal status and physical address.

Put all of this on your site:

• Your full legal name, and company registration number if you have one
• A physical address, not only a PO box
• Email address and phone number
• Full price including delivery and every other cost
• Returns and refund policy
• Privacy notice (template in Documents and templates)

The order review step

Your checkout must include a step where the customer can review the entire order, including products, quantities, pricing, delivery costs, and terms, and correct any errors before finalising. This satisfies section 43(2). Failing to provide it gives the consumer a 14-day cancellation right under section 43(3).

A one-click buy button with no review screen costs you a week of extra cancellation exposure on every order.

The seven-day cooling-off right

Section 44 lets a consumer cancel an electronic transaction without reason and without penalty within seven days after receiving the goods, or after the agreement for services was concluded. It applies where the consumer is a natural person, regardless of the transaction value, subject to the exclusions in section 42(2).

The seven-day window is statutory and cannot be contracted out of. A "no refunds" sign on an online store is unenforceable against a cooling-off claim.

The only charge you may pass to the consumer for the cancellation is the direct cost of returning the goods.

For services the cooling-off right lapses as soon as the services are used, and certain transactions are excluded, including some financial services and auctions.

Do not copy a shop-front returns policy onto a website. They are different legal situations.

Delivery timing

Under section 46 you must execute the order within 30 days of receiving it unless you agreed otherwise. If you cannot perform because the goods are unavailable, you must notify the customer immediately and refund any payment within 30 days of that notification.

If your product page promises delivery in three days, that promise becomes your agreement. Promise what you can actually do.

The six-month warranty

Consumers are entitled to goods that are reasonably suitable for their ordinary purpose, of good quality and in good working order, free from defects, reasonably durable, and compliant with applicable standards.

Section 56 gives a six-month implied warranty. If goods fail within six months and it is not the customer's fault, they can generally choose repair, replacement, or refund.

Price this in. A retailer who assumes zero returns is pricing wrong.

Importing stock

You need an importer's code from SARS Customs. It is free and separate from your income tax registration.

You pay import duty plus 15% VAT on the landed value at the border, even if you are not VAT registered. That VAT is a real cost you cannot recover unless you are a vendor. Build it into your landed cost before you order, not after.

Some goods need a Letter of Authority from the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) before they may be sold in South Africa. This covers many electrical products, lighting, plugs, chargers, and some automotive parts. Importers get caught by this constantly and the stock cannot legally be sold.

Check the NRCS requirement before you pay a supplier deposit.

Payments

Compare payment gateway fees carefully. For a small store, the percentage per transaction matters more than the monthly fee.

Ask about: percentage per transaction, fixed fee per transaction, monthly fee, settlement time, chargeback handling, and whether they support instant EFT, which many South African customers prefer over cards.

If you take cash, check your bank's cash deposit fees. They are often the largest single bank cost for a small retailer.

Stock records

Once you carry stock, the spreadsheet in Documents and templates needs one more sheet: stock on hand.

Track cost price, selling price, quantity, and date received. You need cost of goods sold for your tax return, and you need to know which items are actually making money.

Branding and marketing notes

Use Branding and marketing. For products, add this to the naming prompt:

I sell physical products. Check the name is not already a registered
trade mark in South Africa for similar goods, and tell me how to check
this myself on the CIPC trade marks database.

Product photography on a plain background, shot in daylight, converts better than styled photos for most small sellers. Keep image files under 500 KB, because many customers pay for data.

Your checklist