Sars commits to consultation

Sars commissioner
Tom Moyane gave his
assurances to the industry
when he addressed the
SA Association of Freight
Forwarders' annual
congress in Durban last
week that no aspect of the
Excise Duty Act would
be implemented without
proper consultation.
Sars commits to further industry consultation
August 2016 is the tentative
date for the roll-out of the first
of three phases – Registration
and Licensing – of the new
Excise Duty Act, and the South
African Revenue Service (Sars)
has assured industry that it
will not implement any aspect
of the new legislation without
proper consultation.
“It is imperative that there
is a cordial, open and mutually
beneficial relationship
between Sars and industry
in the interests of effective
trade facilitation,” said Sars
commissioner, Tom Moyane,
in his keynote address at the
South African Association of
Freight Forwarders (Saaff)
congress in Durban last week.
He added that Saaff was “a
key player in the supply chain
and an extremely important
stakeholder for Sars”, noting
that an estimated 80% of trade
in the country was managed by
Saaff members.
“The impact of the new
legislation, its incorporation
into current automated
systems, policies and
procedures as well as the
necessary re-adjustments
to be made by every entity
engaged in business with Sars
Customs is no small feat and
we simply won’t be able to
achieve this without industry
collaboration,” said Moyane.
While some conference
delegates took Moyane’s
message with more than a
pinch of salt, most delegates
saw it as a positive sign
that the commissioner had
attended the industry event,
along with a number of other
high-profile Sars members.
“They commented that
while Moyane’s speech had
delivered no real surprises
(other than a little more
clarity on the roll-out
date of the first phase) it
was an acknowledgement
that regulations could not
simply be rolled out without
widespread consultation
as to the practicalities
around implementation and
compliance.
“Moyane’s strong
relationship with the Saaff
board is noted and I sincerely
hope that his presence at the
conference is a sign of an
improved relationship and
much better communication
to industry going forward,”
said one of the delegates.
Kosie Louw, chief officer
of the Sars legal and policy
division, told FTW that the
revenue authority would
likely have a consolidated
package – based on industry
and stakeholder feedback to
date – of the three new Acts
ready by the end of the year.
“We will hold a new
workshop within the first
quarter of next year to discuss
the new legislative proposals,”
he said.
INSERT 
It is imperative
that there is a
cordial, open and
mutually beneficial
relationship between
Sars and industry.
– Tom Moyane
CAPTION
Tom Moyane