Sars gives ‘outdated Act’ a make-over

The tax authorities have just released two draft bills that will make massive changes, and extensively modernise, the Customs and Excise Act, 1964. This with the draft Customs Control Bill and draft Customs Duty Bill being published by the SA Revenue Service (Sars) for public comment, with replying statements requested before the deadline of February 26, 2010. It’s all part of the rewrite of the act, started in January 2005 and getting closer to completion. Talking about the two new draft bills, Sars said: “Due to the volume and complexity involved in providing an entirely new legislative framework to replace the current act, the customs and excise components have been split into two phases. “The draft Customs Control Bill and the draft Customs Duty Bill constitute the first phase of the project and will be followed by the drafting, in the second phase, of an Excise Bill.” And, once these two draft bills have been enacted into law, the current C&E Act will be retained for the continued administration of excise duties until the drafting of the Excise Bill has been completed and it has been enacted. The current act – now a quarter century old – is out of date and the new rewrite is intended to bring the act into line with modern-day business practices, and to allow it to practise in the cyber-world of today’s freight and trade industries. “The current C&E Act,” said Sars, “is no longer structurally suitable to serve as a vehicle for implementing a modern system of customs control in accordance with current international trends and best practices – and needs to be replaced by a new legislative framework.” The advantages of the proposed new act, the customs’ authority added, is that it: ● is simpler to understand, clear and predictable; ● supports a fast-paced international trade environment; ● is aligned with international customs conventions aimed at standardising customs procedures; ● supports the enforcement of a wide variety of national policies and laws at the border relating to border security, environmental controls and the protection of the economy and the people of South Africa; and ● provides for the levying, payment and recovery of customs duties on goods imported or exported from the Republic. Comments on the drafts are invited and may be submitted on the comment sheet available on the website http://www.sars. co.za/home.asp?pid=52836 to Samantha Authar – email sauthar@sars.gov.za by not later than February 26, 2010.