The South Africa Revenue Service (SARS) will, from June 1, require all foreign-registered vehicles to be declared on the SARS Traveller Management System (TMS) prior to them entering or leaving South Africa.

SARS Commissioner Dr Johnstone Makhubu says this measure aligns South Africa with established global customs practice and forms part of SARS’s ongoing programme to modernise customs operations at ports of entry, strengthen compliance and protect the integrity of the country’s ports of entry.

He further indicates that this move could deliver benefits such as improvements to risk-based screening, reinforce coordination with other authorities and improve traveller experiences.

He adds that this “supports South Africa’s financial transparency obligations and enhances national security by ensuring that goods, currency and vehicles are properly declared before entry or exit”.

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, Makhubu reiterates that 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.

He also notes that while online declarations improve processing times, they do not replace physical border controls, and all travellers are still required to present themselves to customs officials for verification, processing and inspection where required.

“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 at border crossings,” Makhubu says.

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 uncomplicated while improving oversight, consistency and fairness at the border. 

SARS encourages foreign vehicle owners and cross-border operators to make use of official SARS sources for accurate guidance and to understand the new declaration procedures before the June 1 implementation date.