Supporting Documents - BLNS On 15 March the South African Revenue Service (Sars) published amendments to the Rules to the Customs and Excise Act (Sections 21 and 119A) relating to the requirements for supporting documents, places appointed as transit sheds, container depots and degrouping depots, as well as time allowed for temporary importation of goods from Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and Swaziland (BLNS). Systems Implementation Update On 14 March Sars’ Executive Customs Modernisation issued the following notice to External Stakeholders. The recent implementation of Release 3 at Ramatlabama saw the rollout of new cross-border clearance and inspection procedures. In addition to this, new requirements with regard to Import and Export Control were also implemented. To ensure continuity Sars implemented the same Import and Export Control procedures at Kopfontein on the weekend of 17 March. More details in this regard are available under the headline – “Sacu Land Borders – Import & Export Control Measures” dated 16 February, on the Sars Modernisation webpage. Furthermore, to alleviate delays concerning crossborder rail cargo, the customs notification “Proceed to Border” (Status Code 8) was also withdrawn at the weekend. The “Proceed to Border” status is therefore solely applicable to crossborder road movements. Customs Modernisation Release 3 is currently being implemented at all Sacu border posts, starting with Kopfontein and Ramatlabama last month. The next ports earmarked for release so far this year are: (i) Nerston (Swaziland) on the weekend of 24 March; (ii) Vioolsdrift (Namibia) on the weekend of 1 April; and (iii) Nakop (Namibia) on the weekend of 1 April”. Excess Currency On 16 March Sars’ Customs and Border Management issued its External Policy (EP) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for “Excess Currency”. According to the Scope of the Documents, (a) This policy outlines the limitations on the movement of: (i) Bank notes and foreign currency in and out of South Africa; and (ii) Kruger Rand coins. (b) This policy applies to every person who is about to enter/has entered, who is about to exit/has exited South Africa from/to a country outside the Common Monetary Area (CMA) through any recognised place of arrival/ departure and who has in his/ her possession South African banknotes, any foreign currency or Kruger Rand coins. (c) This policy does not apply to: (i) Bearer Instruments, for example, bills of exchange, cheques, promissory notes, bearer bonds, travellers’ cheques, money orders or postal orders; or (ii) The movement of foreign currency and/or rand within the CMA. Removal of Goods On 14 March Sars’ Customs and Border Management issued its External Policy (EP) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for “Removal of Goods”. According to the Scope of the Documents, (a) This policy prescribes the removal of goods in bond or in transit by road with specific focus on the provisions of Section 64D of the Customs and Excise Act and the Rules thereto. (b) This document does not apply to: (i) Any movement by sea, air or rail; (ii) Goods removed between enterprises or to the Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) operator within the same Customs Controlled Area (CCA) of the IDZ; (iii) The licensing of a remover of goods in bond; and (iv) Bonds pertaining to a remover of goods.
