Travel agents are building the mandatory SARS traveller declaration into pre-trip checklists, cautious about completing it on clients’ behalf because of the 24-hour submission window and the responsibility for ensuring its accuracy.
The requirement, which came into effect on July 1, applies to travellers entering or leaving South Africa, who must submit an online declaration no more than 24 hours before travel unless they qualify for limited paper-based exceptions.
Agents expect the declaration to be a manageable addition to leisure travellers pre-trip planning but warn that corporate travellers are expected to face delays and disruptions.
“It is a fundamental change in when compliance happens. The border has moved to 24 hours before departure. Business travellers who don’t adjust their pre-trip habits and routine are going to feel it,” says Herman Heunes, GM of Corporate Traveller South Africa.
“It’s better for governments, and ultimately better for travellers who are prepared, but it creates a new category of risk for anyone who treats pre-trip admin as an afterthought.”
Sure Travel clients have occasionally been spot-checked, particularly at Cape Town International Airport, says Stefan van der Merwe, CEO of Sure Travel. “It has been implemented on the same principle as before [the electronic declaration became mandatory], where they would spot-check people going through the green lane at customs,” he says.
Incomplete declarations create risk
Since implementation, agents have had to offer clients additional guidance on how to fill out forms, taking into consideration the submission deadline for complex itineraries.
Agents completing the documents on behalf of clients creates risk, as SARS explicitly states on its website “the person completing the declaration takes responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided”.
“Our focus is on educating customers on how to complete forms themselves. If an agent submits on behalf on a client, they will need a whole lot of last-minute information from the customer to make sure it is accurate, including the value of specific equipment, device serial numbers and more,” says Van der Merwe.
Corporate travellers often carry items that require declaration, including business equipment, product samples, gifts intended for clients, commercial goods and cash above the R100 000 threshold, says Huenes.
Allowances cannot be combined between travellers and goods exceeding the duty-free threshold trigger further customs assessment.
SARS has been clear that failure to declare or false declarations could result in delays, detention of goods, penalties or enforcement action under customs legislation.
“If samples or goods get held at customs, the real cost is the stress and disruption that ripples into expos, meetings and other commitments,” says Heunes. “That’s why the declaration needs to be part of the travel workflow rather than left until check-in.”
The 24-hour submission window and the risk of the SARS declaration platform being temporarily unavailable create additional complications, says Linda Edwards, MD of XL Turners Travel.
“For English-speaking, tech-savvy travellers, it is a fairly easy document to navigate. However, in practice, network issues can cause complications. Government websites are notorious for being ‘offline’, which adds extra administrative inconvenience, especially for groups of travellers where multiple declarations are required.”
SARS provides for these circumstances, stating that, should a traveller be unable to submit the declaration electronically because of a system failure, lack of Internet access or other reasonable grounds, they may be assisted by an officer at the port or use a self-service terminal, where available.
