In this week’s column we pose some questions relating to the Customs Duty Act, 2014 and the Customs Control Act, 2014.
The process of drafting these Acts has been a protracted affair, to say the least, marred by delays and postponements. Add to this that the exact date of the Acts’ introduction is still not known.
Presently the Acts are subject to proposed amendment, and then the rules to the Acts are still being formulated, subject to a process of some consultation. Then, what about the DA forms. Would these be subject to any change? (DA the acronym for “doeane en aksyns”, in English it’s “customs and excise”. No proposed forms have yet been published as part of the consultation process.
All remains quite confusing.
Why rush publishing Customs Acts?
Why were the Customs Duty Act, 2014 and the Customs Control Act, 2014 published at the time that they were? For they still have not entered into force, and there is still no definitive date for them to do so. So why publish them? Add to this the fact that the Acts have already been subject to proposed amendment in two Taxation Revenue Amendment Bills. It was subject to proposed amendment even before it entered into force.
Is one to deduce that the drafting of the Customs Duty Act, 2014 and the Customs Control Act, 2014 were rushed? If so, why the rush?
Customs Acts Training
We question why any company would presently willingly invest in sending their staff to attend a training course or workshop on the Customs Duty Act, 2014 and the Customs Control Act, 2014.
They would be attending training on two 2014 Acts (still to be enacted), for which the Rules to the Acts are still being devised and deliberated on, and which, in all likelihood, will at best be introduced in phases, and then only in mid-2016 (best case).
New Customs Legislation
In a Sars letter titled “UPDATE ON NEW CUSTOMS LEGISLATION” dated 14 August 2015 Sars Chief Officer: Legal and Policy indicated, amongst other things, that “We will soon be launching a dedicated web page on the Sars website for updates on the new Customs legislation".
More than three months later there has been no further information on the launching of a dedicated web page.
