TRAVELLERS are queuing
for up to an hour to
declare their electronic
devices before departing at
OR Tambo, while agents
remain unable to confidently
advise clients.
This week, South African
Revenue Service (Sars)
call centre staff and some
customs officials at the airport
continued to offer advice that
contradicted Sars’ official
communication.
Call centre representatives
and even some customs
officials at the various airports
are advising that a DA 65
form needs to be filled out to
register personal electronics
on departure.
However, a Sars media
statement advises that the
correct form is actually the
TC-01, also referred to as a
Traveller Card.
To get clarity, TNW visited the
customs desk at OR Tambo. It
was confirmed that travellers
need to fill out the TC-01 form
before leaving the country.
Travellers present the
Traveller Card form at the
customs desk, where it is
then captured online on a
traveller declaration system
called TRD1. Travellers then
authenticate the declaration by
signing on a digital signature
pad. The customs desk prints
a copy for the traveller to
retain as proof of registration.
This process is also valid for
six months or until an update
is necessary.
The law, as outlined in the
Sars handbook and on its
website, states that travellers
need to register all electronic
devices before departing the
country if they want to bring
these back. If a traveller
doesn’t and is asked for
proof of local purchase or
ownership on return, their
devices are detained until the
traveller can present proof of
ownership in the form of an
invoice, insurance record or,
in the case of a laptop, even
the content on the laptop.
Customs officials will use their
discretionary powers to satisfy
that proof.
If the traveller cannot
present such proof or the
customs official is not
satisfied with it, the official can
levy a penalty for non- or false
declaration, as well as duty
and VAT. Currently, the average
penalty is R1 500, but it
could be as much as
R5 000 excluding duty and
VAT, which means that the
total could shoot up to over
R20 000.
Because the TC-01 is valid
for six months, Michelle
Boshoff, gm of central
services of Pentravel, does
not think frequent travellers
will be too inconvenienced,
although the initial registration
will be painful due to long
queues.
In addition to completing the
TC-01 form, Mary Shilleto,
ceo of Thompsons Travel,
recommends that corporate
travellers get proof of
ownership for all their devices
that have been purchased
by their company, as most
corporates use their laptops
for business purposes only
and therefore would not
be able to try and prove
ownership using the content
on the device.
Mary speculates that the
clampdown is due to travellers
making excessive electronics
purchases overseas – for
example, large camera lenses
in the United States, where
they are much more affordable
– without declaring them on
return.
Andrew Stark, md of Middle
East and Africa Flight Centre
Travel Group, says the group is
seeking further clarification on
this matter from the Tourism
Minister. “It is our role to
promote ease of travel for all
South Africans,” he says.
