Sars takes over issue of certificates of origin

SA REVENUE Service (Sars)
has taken control of the
issue of certificates of
origin for duty-free entry
of goods from SA into the
other 13 member countries
of the Southern African
Development Community
(SADC) – Angola, Botswana,
the Democratic Republic
of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi,
Mauritius, Mozambique,
Namibia, Seychelles,
Swaziland, Tanzania,
Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
No longer can an
exporter amble along to the
local chamber of commerce
and industry and get his
Form A certificate of origin
stamped, signed and sealed.
Now only an authorised
SADC certificate of origin
will comply with the
community’s trade protocol,
and gain duty-free access
to the SADC free trade area
(FTA).
Sars has taken over
what was a fairly loose
verification of the
certificate of origin in the
chambers, according to
Riaan de Lange of Tariff &
Trade Intelligence.
Application for the SADC
certificate of origin can now
only be done through Sars
local offices or at border
posts, he said. “An exporter
will now have to negotiate
with Sars for them to
investigate and verify his
application.”
To accommodate the
new system, De Lange
added, Sars has changed the
DA185 range of forms with
certain new annexes.
“Exporters will need
to amend their status in
terms of their customs
code number by completing
the new annexes to the
DA185,” he told FTW. “The
completed forms can be
submitted in the usual way
or presented to Sars at the
border as an application
for the new certificate of
origin.”