On 29 June 2011 Sars released a letter titled “Update On Customs Modernisation Release 2”, which reads as follows: Following the go-live of Customs Modernisation Release 2 on 10 June at Ortia, Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, we would like to update you on progress: • The Sars Processing Centre in Alberton was opened to Gauteng traders for bulk scanning of supporting documents on Monday 27 June 2011. The same will be done at the Sars Processing Centres in Bellville (Cape Town), Durban and Doringkloof (Pretoria) over the coming weeks. You will be notified of the opening dates closer to the time. For information about the Alberton facility - Physical Address Alberton Campus, McKinnon Crescent, New Redruth Village, Alberton; GPS Co-Ordinates S26 15.669 E28 06.756; • Enhancements to the Voucher of Correction (VOC) process were introduced on Monday 28 June and as a result agents/traders should notice the number of stops on VOCs decreasing. Here are some useful tips with respect to the VOC process: • If there is an open case on the original declaration then you will not be able to submit a VOC on that case unless you are asked for one by Customs via the Request Amendment (26) message. In this instance, the case number and Change Acknowledgement Indicator (CAI) fields are mandatory as well. • When a trader is submitting a VOC of their own volition (not requested by Customs) they • should firstly ensure that there is no open case linked to the LRN and then submit their VOC without a case number or the Change Acknowledgement Indicator. • There will be a more comprehensive guide on VOCs provided on the website in due course. • Release 2 will only be implemented at the other Customs offices in a few weeks’ time in a phased approach. Traders will be informed about the exact dates closer to the time, but the next phase will not begin until at least the end of July. • For those traders/agents who have clients registered to the first four offices that went live on 10 June, we have placed a list on the above website of who to call if there are any urgent issues that need to be resolved. The escalation process should be in the following order: firstly the MOTSUs, then the Controller/Branch Manager, then the Regional Executive and then the Group Executive, until the issue is resolved.
