ABOUT IMPORT EXPORT

Many individuals import goods into SA from overseas, either for personal or commercial purposes.

The question is: when does the obligation to register as an importer with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) arise?

The Customs and Excise Act of 1964 (the Customs Act) provides rather vaguely that the SARS Commissioner may require all persons or any class of persons that participate in any activities regulated by the Customs Act to register under section 59A.

Rule 59A.03(1) stipulates persons who are obliged to register and persons who may apply for registration. In terms of rule 59A.01(1)(a)(i) any person who is an importer or exporter shall apply for registration, except if:

• • The importer or exporter has a business establishment in or resides in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia or Swaziland (a BLNS country); or
• • A person imports goods or exports goods of which the value for each consignment is less than R20 000, subject to the limitation of three such onsignments annually; or
• • The goods are not commercial goods as defined in rule 120A.04.

In terms of Rule 120A.04, commercial goods are defined to mean all goods other than:

1. ❑ Personal effects and sporting and recreational equipment, new or used, imported as accompanied or unaccompanied passenger’s baggage by non residents of SA for their own use during their stay in the country;
2. ❑ Personal effects and sporting and recreational equipment, new or used, exported by residents of SA for their own use to Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia or Swaziland, and subsequently re-imported as accompanied or unaccompanied passenger’s luggage by such residents;
3. ❑ Goods imported as accompanied passengers’ baggage by non residents or residents of SA in specific limited quantities, for example, wine, spirits and other alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, pipe tobacco and perfumery.

If all the required information is in place, registration should be completed and the person should be issued with an importer’s code within 10 working days. Should the application forms be duly completed and submitted to SARS, a stamped copy of the application should be retained as proof of submission to SARS.

This exception to the general rule will only be allowed upon proof that a duly completed application has been submitted for consideration to SARS. Once the application has been granted SARS must be approached to have the provisional payment refunded or made final, depending on the circumstances. Before paying the provisional payment it is worthwhile to try to negotiate the lowest possible provisional payment in view of the difficulties usually experienced in obtaining refunds of provisional payments made to the receiver.

A query that often arises is whether a person is required to register as an importer if he frequently orders books and CDs from overseas. Our view is that as long one can justify that the goods are personal effects for personaluse and consumption and not for commercial use, one should be able to import without the need to register as an importer. Furthermore, exchange control allows persons to import goods to the value of up to R20 000 an order without the approval of the Reserve Bank.