SOUTH African authorities are
tightening the screws on a law that the
South African Revenue Service (Sars)
introduced in the 1980s but has not
been proactively enforced for decades,
thus taking both agents and travellers
by surprise.
The law, which is outlined in the Sars
handbook and on its websites, states
that travellers need to register their
electronic equipment before departing
the country if they want to bring it
back in, with a DA 65 form stamped
and signed by Sars. It applies to all
electronics, including mobile phones,
laptops, tablets, cameras and even
watches.
Rachael Penaluna, business manager
of Sure Maritime Travel, says the
problem is that Sars is inconsistent
with its laws. “This law has just
cropped up lately, so it is obvious that
Sars is trying to catch travellers and
make some money. It is a complete
waste of business travellers’ time.”
Rachael says she has been
to the Sars desk herself a
number of times in the past
and there have not even been
any DA 65 forms available to
fill out. “I do not think it is
fair, but if this law is going to
be enforced from now on, we
need to let our clients know.”
Over the past week, a
number of business travellers
have taken to social media
expressing their anger.
Toler Wolfe-Coote, md of
TWC Freight, was charged
R1 500 to bring his laptop
back into SA on arriving
back from Vietnam.
A representative from Sars
Airport Customs at OR Tambo
confirmed with TNW that the
law had been in place for
many years.
The representative said
those travelling with any
electronic device needed to
obtain a DA 65 form from the
Sars Airport Customs desk at
the airport before departure.
Once filled out, the DA 65
form needs to be stamped
by the Sars desk. It is valid
for six months, but has to
be updated every time the
traveller acquires a new
device. The representative
said that while R1 500 was
the average penalty for failing
to produce the completed
form, it could be as much as
R5 000, excluding VAT and
import duties, which means
that the total could shoot up
to over R20 000.
