Tax season has just opened, which means you’ve probably had some dealings with SARS.

To be fair, most of us in the office had a pretty painless experience, but I can only sympathise with companies that have to dabble in the import and export game.

Seth has the right idea with his Malawi Cane business, which is to hand all of those headaches over to a global freight logistics company, but some people like to go it alone.

Well, in that case, good luck figuring out what’s happening with the implementation of the New Customs Acts Programme, which includes the Declaration Processing System (DPS).

Below from Bizcommunity:

By definition, the new DPS is set to improve the current Sars system of processing import and export declarations. Sars indicated that certain amendments to the rules to the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (the Act) were being considered to support implementation of the new DPS.

Release of the DPS was initially earmarked for December 2018, then postponed to mid-2019. As of 19 June 2019, Sars has released communication that implementation of these changes under the DPS is postponed as Sars is working on ensuring that the new declaration types are successfully finalised.

There is no indication of when this will be implemented, but it is advisable that stakeholders keep a close eye on any publications posted on the Sars website.

The changes are being made to improve the processing of import and export declarations, which is a good thing. The rollout, though, seems to be dragging on.

Via the SARS official site, the latest update, posted on July 1, states that:

SARS is about to embark on roadshows to discuss the New Customs Acts with SARS clients. These will begin on 22 July and end on 1 August, covering every major centre in each region. The purpose of the roadshows is to focus specifically on the new Registration, Licensing and Accreditation (RLA) system, which is expected to be implemented in September 2019…

Please ensure that whoever deals with Customs registrations in your company attends.

I mean, you could do that, and more power to you.

Alternatively, you let the experts handle it. Seth uses Berry & Donaldson, one of South Africa’s largest private forwarding and clearing agents, who handle every step of the way.

Dealings with airlines, shipping companies, and customs-related processes, as well as warehousing, insurance, and cargo deliveries – tick.

How else do you think he gets to live the holiday?

[source:bizcommunity]