Sars lends a willing ear to perishable exporters

Following the first in a series of meetings between the South African Revenue Service (Sars) and the perishables industry about the proposed export time frames and submission of bills of lading in the new Customs Control Act, a working group has been established. According to a spokesman for the Cape’s Port Liaison Forum (PLP), the meeting took place last month and was very positive. “There are requirements in the new legislation that are just physically and practically impossible to adhere to. The perishable industry will not be able to fulfil the conditions of the law as it stands and therefore these meetings are crucial to ensure that Sars understands the impact the legislation will have on fruit exports at large,” he said. The meetings, which will take place in both Cape Town and Pretoria, will see a high-level delegation from Sars engaging with the fruit industry to discuss the new legislation and to try to find a solution to the rules that guide the new Customs Control Act. According to an industry representative who attended the meeting, indications are very positive that Sars officials were not only not aware of the consequences the new act would have on fruit exports, but also very willing to work with the industry to find a solution. According to the rules of the new legislation all goods – regardless of what commodity type – that are packed into a container must be sealed and the bill of entry for the container passed with customs at least two hours before it reaches the stack. The fruit industries, especially grape exporters, traditionally pack containers in the middle of the night and they arrive at the stack in the wee hours of the morning. Up to 60 containers are sent piecemeal over the course of a week to the export stack before the bill of lading covering all the cargo is issued, together with a single export customs declaration. This practice will be illegal under the new law and each container packed and sent will require its own bill of lading. “It will raise the cost of exports significantly, and while there are many commodities that will be able to fulfil the requirements, this is not the case in the perishable sector which will not be able to comply,” said the spokesman. A deadline of mid-March has been set for the working group to come up with viable options and for the Sars team to investigate and understand the impact of the proposed legislation. CAPTION The fruit industries won’t be able to comply with the legislation requiring goods that are packed into a container to be sealed and the bill of entry for the container passed with customs at least two hours before it reaches the stack.