Anti-smuggling controls cause delays at Beit Bridge

KEVIN MAYHEW
AN INCREASE in smuggled tobacco products from Zimbabwe is causing South African Revenue Service (SARS) to impose more stringent controls on high revenue bearing items, says the MD of Beitbridge Border Clearing Agency (BBCA) in Musina, Brian Kalshoven. SARS is acting in the interests of collecting revenue and stopping cheap products competing on the South African market. “We can understand why they are doing it but it becomes a big problem for companies operating at Beit Bridge as it delays vehicles, imposes more paperwork, impacts on cash flow and makes our lives even more difficult,” Kalshoven told FTW. He said there were rumours that transporters were favouring other border posts where controls were more relaxed, but that did not stop the influx of illicit goods, it merely diverted them.