Customs stop complaint rallies Sars and Saaff to action

The issue of Customs stops and their
collateral damage in terms of storage
and overstay charges for importers
has once again come to the fore.
Rafael Rincon of Intercargo turned
to FTW in desperation after his
complaints to SA Revenue Service
had seemingly been ignored.
These specifically related to a
container detained by the Customs
Border Control Unit on September 23.
Efforts to have the Johannesburgmanifested
container moved
to Johannesburg for customs
examination were ignored, according
to Rincon, and while his company
provided the CBU with all relevant
import and clearing documents,
they were instructed to move it
into a licensed depot in Durban for
examination.
After much correspondence back
and forth, it took until October 12 for
Sars to confirm that the classification
was correct and that the container
would be released.
“During this entire process,
never did we receive a written
communication from Customs Border
Control and nor did they provide us
with a written explanation of what
was transpiring,” said Rincon, who
feels that his clients were left with the
impression that his company was not
adequately performing its duties –
when this was not the case.
FTW contacted Dave Watts, SA
Association of Freight Forwarders
maritime adviser, who said he had
raised the question of CBCU stops
at the association’s September
stakeholders’ meeting.
“The general consensus from Saaff
and non-Saaff members present was
that the situation was not untoward
regarding delays,” he told FTW.
“I raised the matter because I had
heard at the National Stakeholders
that there were some complaints
but there was possible confusion
there with PSS (Border Police) stops –
and this is not the case here,” he said.
Watts agreed to take up the issue
with the CBCU leader directly.
Sars told FTW it was prohibited
from discussing the details of specific
cases in public, but would be meeting
directly with the client in question to
discuss the circumstances.
“We would like to reiterate
that Sars tries at all times to act
expeditiously in these matters as
trade facilitation is of the utmost
importance to us,” a spokesman said.