IBSA plans customs fraud strategy

JOY ORLEK SMUGGLING, FRAUD and tax evasion were high on the agenda when SA Revenue Service hosted the inaugural India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Heads of Revenue Administrations meeting in South Africa last week. The challenges facing customs and tax administrations within the context of globalisation and the rapid expansion of trade were key areas of focus for Sars Commissioner Pravin Gordhan and his Brazilian and Indian counterparts. Trade between South Africa and Brazil rose to more than R10 billion in 2005, increasing from the R6, 6 billion trade figure of two years earlier. Trade between South Africa and India totalled more than R14 billion last year, more than double that of 2003.