New Customs Programme creates highly regulated environment

The supply chain industry
is moving into a highly
regulated environment,
Johan Marais, consultant:
customs and regulations for
the SA Association of Freight
Forwarders, told delegates at
a recent JCCI/FTW business
breakfast.
“The New Customs Act
Programme (NCAP) could
change close to 60 existing
policies,” he said. “It could
introduce 80 new policies and
create up to 382 additional
documents. It could also
introduce 54 additional
so called registrants and
licensees. There is regulation
on regulation – creating the
highly regulated environment
in which we move.”
It could
also introduce
52 additional
cargo reports,
said Marais,
all of which
have to be
submitted
electronically.
“When your
trucker
arrives at
his point
of delivery he must let Sars
customs know that the
cargo has been delivered. So
technology is hugely influential
even in a local delivery.”
And while much has been
said and written
about the New
Customs Act,
there’s little
clarity on
when it will be
implemented.
“There have
been many
workshops
– and it’s far
better to do
it thoroughly
so that by time of
implementation we don’t
then discover hurdles.
“Rules on the Customs
Control Act were concluded
in March. The Customs
Duty Act rules have only just
commenced – and we must
ask ourselves the question,
can anything be implemented
before the the planning and
preparation and products from
a Sars customs perspective are
there? The legislation has to
be understood to be complied
with before it is implemented,”
said Marais.
The Customs modernisation
was in part initiated as a
requirement of the World
Customs Organisation,
said Marais, and data was
developed so that there would
be one language spoken by all
customs administrations.
The new digital world will
however pose some significant
issues for Sars – the likes of 3D
printing for example. Will duty
be payable on a pair of Nike
shoes printed on a 3D printer
by the buyer in South Africa,
was the question put by one of
the delegates.
According to Marais, duty
won’t be payable – which
could challenge the freight
forwarding industry and
its position in future supply
chains.
INSERT AND CAPTION
The New Customs
Act Programme could
change close to 60
existing policies.
– Johan Marais