On 22 February 2023, the Finance Minister made a number of customs and excise announcements which were not contained in the Budget Speech.
- Specifying conditions for deferment of duties
Standard 4.15 of the General Annex of the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) provides that “[w]here national legislation provides for the deferred payment of duties and taxes, it shall specify the conditions under which such facility is allowed.”
It is proposed that the SARS Commissioner be enabled to prescribe conditions under which deferment of duties will be allowed by rules.
- Single window for advance passenger information and passenger number record data
Following an assessment of South Africa’s approach to collecting advance passenger information (API) and passenger name record (PNR) data, it is proposed that a single window be established to collect API and PNR data. As the Home Affairs Department is responsible for the collection of such data, carriers will be allowed to submit the required data to the Home Affairs Department, which will distribute the information to other relevant government entities such as SARS.
An amendment is also proposed to ensure the protection of personal information in this regard.
- Traveller Management System
SARS is implementing a modern online traveller management system, which has been piloted on a voluntary basis at King Shaka International Airport since November 2022. The system is aimed at strengthening SARS’s capability to facilitate legitimate traveller movements, providing travellers with clarity and certainty regarding their obligations, easing compliance, detecting non-compliance and improving enforcement of legislation by SARS and other agencies.
It is proposed that the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 be amended to provide for the declaration of the required information before arrival in or departure from South Africa.
- Amending the Processes and Procedure for Provisional Payments
There are currently no provisions in the act relating to the liquidation of provisional payments that serve as security in certain circumstances and that are not claimed back by the trader.
Government proposes amending the act to enhance the current processes and procedure for such payments below a specified amount or that remain unliquidated after a specified period and to introduce a prescription period for unclaimed amounts.