On 20 January the South African Revenue Service (SARS) announced the publication of a guide on “Duty Exemption on Ships’ Stores Consumed in the Republic”.
According to SARS the guide has been prepared to clarify the circumstances in which duty relief is granted on ships’ stores consumed in the Republic. It does not go into comprehensive technical and legal detail and should therefore not be used as a legal reference.
In its Introduction SARS advised that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the cruise liner business was one of the fastest-growing industries in the world and South Africa was no exception. A significant number of cruise ships called at multiple ports in the Republic. This has led to a renewed focus by both the SARS and ship operators on clarifying the duty treatment of ships’ stores consumed in the Republic. Consequently, Schedule No.4 to the Customs and Excise Act, No.91, 1964 (General Rebates of Customs Duties, Fuel Levy and Environmental Levy) was recently amended to clarify the duty treatment of such stores and to ease the administrative burden on both the customs authority and ship operators.
Comment on the Guide can be sent to SARS policycomments@sars.gov.za.
The Notice is accessible at:
Story by: Riaan de Lange