From the beginning of next month, the South African Revenue Services (SARS) will require all foreign-registered vehicles to be declared on the SARS Traveller Management System (TMS) prior to them entering or leaving South Africa.
The measure seeks to align the country with standard international practice and with efforts to modernise the revenue service’s operations at the ports.
“Where foreign vehicles are temporarily imported, temporary import permits with a validity period of six months may be issued, and such permits may be used for multiple crossings during that period without the need to reapply at each entry.
“Frequent cross-border travel for work, study, business, medical care or other lawful reasons does not affect the validity of the permit, provided it remains in force and is renewed before it expires. The process is designed to make compliance straightforward while improving oversight, consistency and fairness at the border.
“While SARS’s expectation is that travellers will declare their foreign-registered vehicles on the [TMS] before they arrive at the border to take advantage of the simplified and expedited processing on offer…SARS will continue to support travellers who are unable to complete the declaration online and will deploy dedicated officials at ports of entry to guide travellers through the process,” SARS said in a statement.
SARS Commissioner, Dr Johnstone Makhubu, emphasised the importance of compliance.
“Compliance is not optional; vehicle owners who do not declare foreign registered vehicles or who provide false or incomplete information expose themselves to enforcement consequences and prolonged processing at the border.
“I also wish to reaffirm that where vehicle owners comply with all the legal requirements, the process will be seamless, however where compliance is low, this may lead to delays in border crossing,” Makhubu said.
Further information is available at: https://www.sars.gov.za/travellerdeclaration/ and https://www.sars.gov.za/customs-and-excise/
- SAnews.gov.za
