SARS publishes draft amendments for comment

Public comments close 20 August 2024

SOUTH AFRICA: While industry stakeholders continue to bemoan the lack of movement to reinstate offshore bunkering operations, the South African Revenue Services (SARS) rather quietly released further amendments to the rules regulating the storage of imported bunker fuel in special customs and excise storage warehouses.

Although published on 6 August, the draft has not been extensively publicised, but calls for public comment will close on Tuesday next week. This follows two previous rounds of engagement after the initial draft was published late last year and a second round of public feedback was sought in April of this year.

The amendments to the rules under sections 21 and 60 of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 relate to the creation of a new special customs and excise warehousing type for imported bunker fuel.

According to SARS, comments received in May have been reviewed and considered in the new draft.

The second draft of the rules published on 19 April were ringfenced for imported “bunker fuel”. The approach in the third draft of the rules now accommodates a wider range of fuels on land, and the new warehouse type is for purposes of “bonded fuel goods”, namely a “land-based bonded fuel goods special storage warehouse” (land-based SOS) and a “sea-based bonded fuel goods special storage warehouse” (sea-based SOS).

It is almost a full year since offshore bunkering operations were halted in Algoa Bay. Despite indications from the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) during a Bunker Sector Roundtable held in April that an operator was poised to reinstate the service, no such action has occurred.

Follow the link to the SARS website to comment on the document.