On 03 December 2021, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) announced the release of its 8-page Customs External Policy - “Submission of Advance Import Payments”.
According to the Summary of Main Points: (a) The importer, already registered with SARS, submits a completed Advance Payment Notification (APN) on SARS eFiling; (b) The importer receives an APN reference number assigned by SARS and communicates it to the authorised dealer and inserts it on the CCD; and (c) Payments made to foreign suppliers are reported to the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) after which the importer makes clearance.
The External Guide is available on request.