On 21 September 2020, the South African Revenue Service informed of the update of its “Offences and Penalties”, and “Updated Offences and Penalties Policy”.
The updating the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA) is required as:
(i) The submission must be delivered within thirty (30) days; and
(ii) The committee has forty-five (45) days to make a decision.
The Summary of the Policy indicates that:
(a) Where it has been established that the Act has been contravened or not complied with, the Commissioner is empowered to offer Section 91 to a client as an alternative to prosecution. (b) The client has the option of accepting or rejecting the offer of Section 91. Failure to comply with the request will result in a letter of demand for the underpayments. (c) Under no circumstances will Customs accept a deposit lodged in terms of Section 91 under protest. (d) Goods dealt with in contravention of the provisions of the Act are liable to forfeiture and if the goods are not available at time of a Customs intervention, an amount of forfeiture may be imposed. (e) Where goods have been detained, seized or forfeited, the Commissioner can direct that the goods are returned to the owner where good cause is shown. (f) Any person whose rights have been adversely affected by administrative action has the right to be given written reasons, as contemplated in the Constitution of South Africa.
According to SARS’ “Customs and Excise Contraventions, Penalties and Disputes”, “If any person has contravened or failed to comply with any provisions of the Customs and Excise Act, then it will be considered as committing a customs offence and a deposit for a possible contravention can then be charged by the relevant authority. A person can decide to lodge a dispute against the customs offence or penalty imposed. Deposits for various contravention ito of the Customs and Excise Act can be called for. It is not only where goods are imported or exported. A licensee or registrant can also be ‘penalised’ if not complying with certain conditions.”
The External Policy and Information are accessible at:
https://www.sars.gov.za/ClientSegments/Customs-Excise/OffPenalDisp/Page…
Story by: Riaan de Lange