It will instead be focusing on Reporting of Conveyancing and Goods (RCG), building on the platform created by the new Manifest Processing System (MPR) which was introduced last year, according to a statement released yesterday.

“All impacted clients for RCG will be engaged through the stakeholder engagement sessions as well as directly, closer to implementation which is only likely to take place in the first half of next year,” a spokesman said.

“In the meantime, work has continued on the drafting of the Rules under the Customs Control Act and the Customs Duty Act.”

A workshop was held to discuss the comments received on the second draft of the Customs Control Rules on 30 August 2016, after which work started on the third draft of those Rules which was published on the Sars website on 3 May this year.

The spokesman pointed out that the third draft had been published for sight only and not comments and had been “frozen” for purposes of Sars systems design and development.

The second draft of the Customs Duty Rules was published for public comment on 1 September 2016 and a workshop was held on 29 May this year to discuss the comments received on that draft, as well as the new Customs Deferment Policy.

“The draft Deferment Rules were published separately for public comment on 2 June this year and the closing date for comments is 31 July 2017.”

According to Sars, work on the third draft of the Customs Duty Rules has been completed and this draft is expected to be published on the Sars website during the first week of July 2017. As in the case of the third draft of the Customs Control Rules, this draft is the so-called “frozen” draft for purposes of systems development.

“As stakeholders were informed during the 29 May workshop, the outstanding rules (ie, Chapters 2 and 37 of the Customs Control Act) as well as the penalty lists in respect of both Acts will be published for public comment when internal discussions and drafting have been finalised,” the spokesman said.

The process of aligning the Customs tariff to the new legislation was progressing, the spokesman added. “It is to be noted that no Excise Rules will be drafted now, as the current rules relating to Excise under the 1964 Act will continue to apply.”

A guide relating to the transition from the current legislation to the new dispensation has recently been published on the Sars website.

Throughout the year, high-level discussions have been taking place about how best to implement the Acts, keeping in mind system development and stakeholder readiness. “It is important that the legislation is understood and all components required to deliver the Acts are built before we embark on implementation” the spokesman said.