DUTY CALLS

Customs Modernisation
Release 2
The South African Revenue
Service (Sars) has announced
that for all operational queries
during the implementation
period of Customs
Modernisation Release 2,
the following escalation
process should be followed:
Firstly, call or mail the branch
contact person. If you have no
response to your query, contact
the branch manager, then the
regional executive and finally
the group executive. For
ease of reference the branch
managers’ details are provided.
Port Elizabeth / Port
Elizabeth Airport: Johann
Scheepers, Jscheepers@sars.
gov.za, 083 561-5140, and 041
503-0303. East London: Leon
Cilliers, Lcilliers@sars.gov.
za, 082 778-9745, and 043
711-2116. King Shaka Airport:
Yogi Govender, Ygovender@
sars.gov.za, 082 857-4287, and
032 436-9024. Richards Bay:
Willy Roelofse, Wroelofse@
sars.gov.za, 083 555-4598,
and 035 780-7523. Cape Town
International Airport: Musa
Nchukana, Mnchukana@sars.
gov.za, 082 464-8969, and 021
413-6639
Customs Modernisation
rolls out to six more
offices
Six more Customs offices
– King Shaka International
Airport, Richards Bay, Port
Elizabeth, Port Elizabeth
International Airport,
Cape Town International
Airport and East London –
implemented what is known
as Customs Modernisation
Release 2 from last weekend
(August 20).
Release 2 involves the
introduction of an electronic
case management system,
a new inspection process
and electronic submission of
supporting documents. The
aim is to eliminate all manual
processes at these offices as far
as possible and through greater
automation, to speed up the
inspection process, a Sars
spokesman said
This follows the
implementation of Release 2 at
the four main Customs offices
– OR Tambo International
Airport, Johannesburg,
Durban and Cape Town – in
June this year, and another
three offices – Pretoria,
Germiston and Bloemfontein –
on the weekend of August 6.
During the last rollout, the
concept of “virtual hubbing”
was implemented for the first
time at the Bloemfontein and
Pretoria Customs offices, the
spokesman explained. “What
this means is that Customs
has taken the first steps
towards centralising its backend
functions in four “hubs”,
or Compliance Centres – in
Durban, Cape Town, Alberton
and Doringkloof.
Eventually, officers located
in these four hubs will be
able to conduct documentary
inspection and finalisation/
adjustment on any cases routed
to them from anywhere in the
country, thus making efficient
use of Sars resources and
helping to eliminate possible
corruption at the ports, the
spokesman explained.
“The new system allows for
workload balancing between
various Customs offices
according to their present
workload. The workload
balancing has already
been implemented for the
Bloemfontein and Pretoria
offices.”
A similar pattern will
be followed by the next six
offices, the spokesman added.
“For this rollout, when
clients receive a systemgenerated
notification calling
for supporting documents, they
are asked to submit them via
one of the electronic channels
that Sars has made available –
either through software, called
e@syScan, or at one of the
bulk scanning centres which
have recently been established
in Durban, Cape Town,
Alberton and Doringkloof.
For more information on
Customs Modernisation go to
the Sars website (www.sars.
gov.za), click on Customs and
Excise, then Customs and
Border Management and then
Customs Modernisation.