On 01 April, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) Director Customs Border Control, Ports of Entry and Compliance announced that some reporters are currently still in the process of making systems and operational changes to ensure full reporting compliance. Industry has requested SARS to extend the pilot once again. Taking this into consideration, SARS will extend the pilot by another month until 30 April. The imposition of monetary penalties for the non-submission of cargo reports will now commence from 01 May.
The letter to External Stakeholders reads:
Extension of ePenalty Pilot
SARS undertook a pilot of the ePenalty system between 01 September and 30 November 2021, in relation to the non-submission of advance cargo loading and arrival notices.
Following engagements with affected stakeholders, SARS consented to requests from industry to extend pilot of the system to 31 March.
As some reporters are currently still in the process of making systems and operational changes to ensure full reporting compliance, industry has requested SARS to extend the pilot once again.
Taking this into consideration, SARS will extend the pilot by another month until 30 April. The imposition of monetary penalties for the non-submission of cargo reports will now commence from 1 May.
To ensure that correspondence regarding ePenalty is correctly routed and timeously received, reporters are requested to engage with the Durban (sea modality) and ORTIA (air modality) offices, respectively, to confirm their contact details.
For more information about Reporting of Conveyances and Goods (RCG), please go to:
https://www.sars.gov.za/customs-and-excise/aboutcustoms/reporting-of-conveyances-and-goods/
The letter is accessible at:
https://www.sars.gov.za/wp-content/uploads/Docs/CandE/Letter-to-trade-ePenalty.pdf
