SA REVENUE Services believes its efforts to raise the bar in terms of service delivery are often hampered by misunderstanding and misinterpretation. FTW will from time to time give Sars the podium to provide its perspective on topical issues, beginning this week with “Operation Obsession”. Your comments on these and any other Customs-related issues are welcome. Send your emails to joyo@nowmedia.co.za Operation Obsession ‘It’s all about facilitating legitimate trade’ THE CUSTOMS division of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has its sights set on becoming a world-class organisation, and to achieve this it has taken cutting-edge initiatives, including Project Obsession. The aim of this project is to buttress the fundamental restructuring, which has been taking place within Customs and whose focus was to raise the bar in terms of service delivery. Project Obsession seeks to: l Improve operational efficiencies taking into consideration the transformation process. l Collect the correct revenue due. How will the efficiencies be improved? The scope of work for Obsession includes the identification, development and documentation of all processes in respect of the three modalities, that is airfreight, sea freight and land borders. Once this work has been completed, it will then become policy to be adhered to by all Customs offices. This will assist with the facilitation of legitimate trade and will provide for a consistent blueprint of dealing with non-compliant clients. As already mentioned, Project Obsession also seeks to ensure that correct revenue is collected from the correct sources. To do this, Customs will employ a risk-based approach. This approach stems from Customs’ study of the behavioural patterns of its clients. Project Obsession, it must be stressed, is about creating a culture within Customs in which officers demonstrate high levels of professionalism and integrity at all times. It is through this project that it is hoped that the rendering of quality service will, in future, be a norm, not an exception. Reader input is welcomed. Email your comments to joyo@nowmedia.co.za
