EMASWATI travelling to South Africa will from next Monday be required to declare the vehicles they are travelling in, along with any goods.
This is under a new border control regulation aimed at tightening compliance and improving customs monitoring.
According to a press statement issued by the Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS) on Tuesday, the enforcement of the declaration of personal goods by travellers when entering or leaving South Africa includes motor vehicles used for travelling. This is a compulsory requirement and applies at all points of entry into South Africa, effective June 1.
“The requirement forms part of South Africa’s Customs processes and applies to all travellers entering or leaving the Republic, either by road, train, ship or air. SARS has indicated that the declaration requirement is aligned with South African Customs legislation, which requires all goods, including motor vehicles, to be declared when entering or leaving South Africa,” said the ERS.
To make the declaration process easier and accessible, SARS has developed the Traveller Management System, which is an online platform through which declarations are to be submitted. The ERS encourages citizens travelling to South Africa to complete the online SARS traveller declaration before travelling.
ERS further stated that completing the declaration in advance will help reduce delays at the entry points and facilitate smoother movement when travellers enter or leave South Africa.
“On submission of the declaration, a traveller should report to the point of entry within 24 hours. Once the declaration has been successfully submitted, SARS will send a notification to the traveller showing their passport number, which will be used as the reference number for authentication,” further added.
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Motor vehicles used for purposes of travel must be declared upon entry into South Africa as a temporary importation and subsequently declared as a re-export upon exiting South Africa.
Travellers will be required to provide information such as their passport details, travel details, contact information, companion details where applicable, business details for business trips, and information relating to the goods, cash and bearer negotiable instruments of an amount equivalent to or above E25 000.00.
The declaration can be completed through the SARS traveller declaration webpage available at sars.gov.za/travellerdeclaration/ with support also expected to be available at the point of entry (at SARS counters). Travellers may also download and use the ‘South African Traveller Management System (SATMS)’ App to register and lodge their declarations.
ERS reminds travellers that this is a SARS requirement for entry into or exit from South Africa. Travellers are urged to prepare before travelling by completing the declaration online and ensuring that all travel documents are in order.
Meanwhile, ERS has also encouraged citizens to comply with the new South African requirements in order to avoid disruptions when travelling.
ERS Director of Communications and Marketing Ntobeko Manana said the declaration requirement would apply to all travellers entering or leaving South Africa by road, rail, ship or air.
