‘No major show-stoppers as SAD makes its entry’

ALAN PEAT
CHAOS AND pandemonium or a smooth changeover? That’s been the question in the freight sector since the single administrative document (SAD) was introduced by SA Revenue Service (Sars) customs for overborder movement of goods within the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) on October 1. Out went the DA500; 501; 504; 510; 514; 550; 551; 554; 600; 601; 604; 610; 611; 614 and the CCA1 – and in came the SAD 500 and the cohort of other form numbers in the range. And the answer? All depended on your perspective. The software systems providers were all well ahead of the times leading up to the kick-off date, according to Brian Mulligan of Freight Fusion Systems. Chrissie du Barry, MD of Shipshape Software, agreed – pointing out that it was at switchover date that two problems could have arisen. The first was back office in the freight industry, where entry clerks had to shift from completing the DA 500/CCA 1 combination, and get the right things in the right place on the new SAD 500 document. And the second was how Sars itself coped. Just before deadline day, Peter Curtis of Compu- Clearing said: “I think Sars is ready. All the electronic side of things is the same as before, and all it had to do was train its staff to read the SAD.” But there sounded one of a number of loud, contrary voices who talked to FTW. The new SAD 500 series of documents raised all sorts of problems – in everything from interpretation, liability and industry awareness to overborder customs’ acceptance and general compliance, according to Alwyn Nel, MD of Kingfisher Freight. “Although the people at Sars customs who did the programming were all prepared,” he told FTW, “there was a problem in interpretation at each of the various offices around the country. “Some proved capable, and others not – and there were even differences in interpretation within one office.” But, in the month from its launch, Sars customs was relatively content with the progress of the new SAD range of cross-border transport forms. According to Sars executive Theo Ruiters, who ran the pre-SAD 500 roadshow on its nationwide tour to prepare the marketplace, “there have been no major show-stoppers” since the introduction on October 1. “We’ve had a few small issues with clients adjusting themselves to the SAD,” he told FTW.