On 17 April the Chief Officer for Customs at the South African Revenue Service (Sars) announced that Sars had received a number of requests from traders for payment relief or extensions in respect of the April 2020 customs duty deferment period as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact which it has had on economic activity under lockdown conditions.
These requests pertain to being permitted a further period for payment of customs duties beyond the 7-day limit that is currently allowed for making payment after the closing of the April 2020 deferment period.
Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac), as part of Government’s effort to combat the pandemic, put in place Rebate Item 412.11 of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964, to enable a full rebate of the customs duties, as well as a Value-added Tax (VAT) exemption on certain critical supplies.
This was followed by the publication of the draft Disaster Management Tax Relief Bill 2020 and the draft Disaster Management Tax Relief Administration Bill 2020 by Treasury and Sars for comment by 15 April.
These instruments provide the necessary legislative amendments required to implement the COVID-19 tax relief measures announced by the Finance Minister on 29 March.
The abovementioned draft Bills do not make provision for any extension of time relating to the period within which customs clearance must be made, or the period within which duties due must be paid as provided in Section 39(1)(b) of the Act, 1964 - i.e. at time of entry, or in terms of the current payment deferment arrangements.
As a result, Sars is not in a position to further extend any payment periods applicable to the payment of customs duties, whether due at time of importation, or within 7 days of the expiry of a deferment period.
Story by: Riaan de Lange