Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No. 91 of 1964)

Chapter I : Definitions

1. Definitions
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(1)In this Act, unless the context otherwise indicates, any reference to customs and excise or matters relating thereto, shall be deemed to include a reference to—
(a)surcharge and fuel levy or matters relating thereto;
(b)air passenger tax or matters relating thereto in so far as those provisions can be applied and subject to the provisions of ' 47B, and—

 

"agricultural distiller"

means any owner or occupier of a farm in the Republic who—

(a)is licensed to keep a still on such farm; and
(b)is licensed to distill spirits exclusively from prescribed fresh fruit grown by him on such farm;

 

"bill of entry"

includes any SAD form, except as otherwise provided in any Schedule, rule or the Schedules to the rules;

 

"Carbon Tax Act"

means an Act of Parliament that makes provision for a carbon tax;

[Definition inserted by section 1 of Schedule 3 of Notice No. 800, GG42483, dated 23 May 2019]

 

"Commissioner"

means the Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service;

 

"common customs area"

means the combined areas of the Member States of SACU;

 

"container depot"

means any container depot contemplated in section 6(1)(hB);

 

"container operator"

means any person providing international transportation of containerized goods, and approved by the Commissioner, under section 96A, for operating containers in the Republic;

 

"container terminal"

means any container terminal contemplated in section 6(1)(hA);

 

"Controller"

in relation to any area or any matter, means the officer designated by the Commissioner to be the Controller of Customs and Excise in respect of that area or matter and includes an officer acting under the control or direction of any officer so designated by the Commissioner;

 

"crew"

includes every person (except the master or pilot) employed in any capacity on board any ship or aircraft;

 

"customs duty"

means any duty leviable under Part 1 of Schedule No.  1 or Schedule No. 2 on goods imported into the Republic;

 

"degrouping depot"

means any degrouping depot for air cargo contemplated in section 6(1)(hC) and licensed under the provisions of this Act;

 

"degrouping operator"

means the licensee of a degrouping depot;

 

"depot operator"

means the person having charge of any container depot;

 

"duty"

means any duty leviable under this Act and subject to—

(a)section 47B, any air passenger tax leviable under that section; and
(b)subject to Chapter VA, any environmental levy leviable under that Chapter.

 

"entry for home consumption"

includes entry under any item in Schedule No.  3, 4 or 6;

 

"environmental levy"

means any duty leviable under Part 3 of Schedule No.  1 on any goods which have been manufactured in or imported into the Republic; and

 

"environmental levy goods"

means any goods specified in Part 3 of Schedule No.  1 which have been manufactured in or imported into the Republic.

 

"excisable goods"

means any goods specified in Part 2 of Schedule No.  1 imported into or manufactured in the Republic;

 

"excise duty"

means any duty leviable under Part 2 of Schedule No. 1 on any goods imported into or manufactured in the Republic;

 

"excise value"

means value as defined in section sixty-nine;

 

"exporter"

includes any person who, at the time of exportation—

(a)owns any goods exported;
(b)carries the risk of any goods exported;
(c)represents that or acts as if he is the exporter or owner of any goods exported;
(d)actually takes or attempts to take any goods from the Republic;
(e)is beneficially interested in any way whatever in any goods exported;
(f)acts on behalf of any person referred to in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e)

and, in relation to imported goods, includes the manufacturer, supplier or shipper of such goods or any person inside or outside the Republic representing or acting on behalf of such manufacturer, supplier or shipper;

 

"fuel levy"

means, subject to subsection (4), any duty leviable under Part 5A of Schedule No. 1 on any fuel levy goods which have been manufactured in or imported into the Republic;

 

"fuel levy goods"

means, subject to subsection (4), any goods specified in Part 5A of Schedule No. 1, except any goods specified in any item of that Part for which a free rate of duty is prescribed as contemplated in section 37A(1)(a), which have been manufactured in or imported into the Republic;

 

"goods"

includes—

(a)anything classifiable within any heading or subheading of Part 1 of Schedule No. 1; and
(b)generally all wares, articles, merchandise, animals, currency, matter or things;

[Definition amended by section 22(1) of Act No. 61 of 2008]

 

"home consumption"

means consumption or use in the Republic;

 

"illicit goods"

in relation to imported or excisable goods, surcharge goods or fuel levy goods, means any such goods in respect of which any contravention under this Act has been committed, and includes any preparation or other product made wholly or in part from spirits or other materials which were illicit goods;

 

"importer"

includes any person who, at the time of importation—

(a)owns any goods imported;
(b)carries the risk of any goods imported;
(c)represents that or acts as if he is the importer or owner of any goods imported;
(d)actually brings any goods into the Republic;
(e)is beneficially interested in any way whatever in any goods imported; or
(f)acts on behalf of any person referred to in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d)or (e);

 

"International Trade Administration Commission"

means the International Trade Administration Commission established by section 7 of the International Trade Administration Act, 2002 (Act No. 71 of 2002);

 

"invoice"

means an invoice contemplated in section 41(1);

[Definition inserted by section 7(1) of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2022 (Act No. 16 of 2022), Notice No. 1542, GG47827, dated 5 January 2023 - comes into effect on a date to be determined by the Minister by notice in the Government Gazette (section 7(2))]

 

"land"

includes off-loading from any vehicle;

 

"L.C.L. container"

means any container containing goods consigned from one or more exporters to more than one importer;

 

"manufacture"

when used as a noun, includes—

(a)in the discretion of the Commissioner, any process—
(i)in the manufacture or assembly of any excisable goods, environmental levy goods, fuel levy goods or Road Accident Fund levy goods;
(ii)in the conversion of any goods into excisable goods, environmental levy goods, fuel levy goods or Road Accident Fund levy goods;
(iii)whereby the dutiable quantity or value of any imported goods specified in Section B of Part 2 of Schedule No. 1, excisable goods, environmental levy goods, fuel levy goods or Road Accident Fund levy goods is increased in any manner;
(iv)in the recovery of excisable goods, environmental levy goods, fuel levy goods or Road Accident Fund levy goods from excisable goods or any other goods;
(v)in the packing or measuring off of any imported goods specified in Section B of Part 2 of Schedule No. 1, excisable goods, environmental levy goods, fuel levy goods or Road Accident Fund levy goods; or
(vi)in the generation of electricity liable to environmental levy; or
(b)any process as may be prescribed in any Part of Schedule No. 1 wherein such duty or levy is specified; or
(c)any other process in respect of goods contemplated in paragraph (a) that the Commissioner may prescribe by rule,

and, when used as a verb, has a corresponding meaning; and "manufacturer" has a corresponding meaning;

[Definition substituted by section 22(1)(b) of Act No. 61 of 2008]

 

"master"

in relation to any ship, means any person (other than a pilot) having charge of such ship;

 

"Minister"

means the Minister of Finance;

 

"Office"

means the Office of the Commissioner for Customs and Excise mentioned in section 1A;

 

"officer"

means a person employed on any duty relating to customs and excise by order or with the concurrence of the Commissioner, whether such order has been given or such concurrence has been expressed before or after the performance of the said duty;

 

"owner"

includes any person lawfully acting on behalf of the owner;

 

"package"

means any container, wrapping or outer cover and its contents, or any bundle or single piece in the case of unpacked goods;

 

"person"

includes an insolvent estate, the estate of a deceased person and any trust;

 

"pilot"

in relation to any aircraft, means any person having charge of such aircraft;

 

"plant"

includes vessels, utensils, appliances and fittings;

 

"prescribed"

means prescribed by this Act;

 

"regulation"

means a regulation made by the Minister under this Act;

 

"Road Accident Fund levy"

means, subject to subsection (4), any duty leviable under Part 5B of Schedule No. 1 on any Road Accident Fund levy goods which have been manufactured in or imported into the Republic;

 

"Road Accident Fund levy goods"

means, subject to subsection (4), any goods specified in Part 5B of Schedule No. 1;

 

"rule"

means a rule made by the Commissioner under this Act;

 

"SACU"

means the Southern African Customs Union between the Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Republic of Namibia, the Republic of South Africa and the Kingdom of Swaziland;

 

"SACU Agreement"

means the Southern African Customs Union Agreement published in Schedule No. 10;

 

"ship"

means any ship, vessel or boat (including a flying boat) of any kind whatsoever;

 

"South African Revenue Service"

means the South African Revenue Service established by section 2 of the South African Revenue Service Act, 1997;

 

"State warehouse"

means any premises provided by the State for the deposit of goods for the security thereof and of the duties due thereon, or pending compliance with the provisions of any law in respect of such goods;

 

"still"

means any apparatus for, or capable of, distilling spirits and includes any part thereof;

 

"still maker"

means a person who manufactures or imports stills for sale and includes a person who repairs stills for reward;

 

"surcharge"

means any duty leviable under Part 4 of Schedule No. 1 on any goods which have been imported into the Republic;

 

"surcharge goods"

means any goods specified in Part 4 of Schedule No. 1 which have been imported into the Republic;

 

"this Act"

includes any proclamation, government notice, regulation or rule issued or made or agreement concluded or deemed to have been concluded thereunder, any agreement contemplated in section 49, or any taxation proposal contemplated in section 58 which is tabled in the National Assembly;

 

"vehicle"

means any aircraft, train, motor car, van, truck, cart, barrow or other conveyance of any kind whatsoever, and includes the fittings, furnishings and equipment thereof, and also pack animals and their harness and tackle;

 

"Wine and Spirit Board"

means the board referred to in section 2 of the Liquor Products Act, 1989;

 

"wine grower"

means a farmer who cultivates vines on land in his own occupation and who produces on such land wine from grapes grown on such vines or delivers grapes grown on such vines to a wine-growers' co-operative agricultural society for the manufacture of wine;

 

"worts"

means any liquid substance containing saccharine matter before fermentation has commenced.

 

(2)In this section, except in the definition of "package", and in sections 4, 6, 7, 18, 38, 44, 64A and 87(2) and 106, "container" means transport equipment of tariff heading 86.09—
(a)having an internal volume of not less than one cubic metre; and
(b)designed for the transport of goods by any means of carriage, without intermediate reloading,

and in this Act "containerized" has a corresponding meaning.

 

(3)For the purposes of the SACU Agreement—
(a)"customs duty" includes, except for the purposes of articles 32, 33 and 34 of the said agreement, any duty leviable under Part 3, 5 or 8 of Schedule No. 1 on goods imported;
(b)"excise duty" includes, except for the purposes of articles 32, 33 and 34 of the said agreement, any duty leviable under Part 3, 5 or 8 of Schedule No. 1 on goods manufactured in the common customs area.

 

(4)Except as otherwise provided in this section or in any other section or as may be provided in any Schedule or rule, any provision in this Act for fuel levy, fuel levy goods or Part 5 of Schedule No. 1 shall be deemed to include in that provision, in respect of—
(a)fuel levy, the Road Accident Fund levy;
(b)fuel levy goods, Road Accident Fund levy goods; or
(c)Part 5 of Schedule No. 1, Part 5A and Part 5B of that Schedule.

 

(5)The expression "goods under customs control", "goods subject to customs control" or "goods under control of the Commissioner" and any cognate expression shall, unless the context otherwise indicates, be deemed to include, but is not limited to—
(a)any ship, vehicle or container contemplated in section 1(2) that is entering or leaving the Republic;
(b)any goods to which this Act relates that are—
(i)on any ship or vehicle or in any container contemplated in section 1(2) that is entering or leaving the Republic;
(ii)in, on or at any premises licensed, registered or approved, or which should have been so licensed, registered or approved, for any purpose in terms of this Act;
(iii)in, on or at any premises or at any place appointed, prescribed or designated in terms of section 6;
(iv)in transit within or through the Republic or conveyed for transhipment to any place outside the Republic in such manner as may be specified by rule;
(v)in, on or at a State warehouse or any place deemed in terms of section 43(2) to be a State warehouse;
(vi)in, on or at any place where goods are kept after having been detained or seized under the provisions of this Act; or
(vii)deemed in terms of any provision of this Act to be under customs control,

whether or not declared in terms of any provision of this Act or, if so declared, whether or not release thereof has been granted.

[Section 1(5) substituted by section 22(1)(c) of Act No. 61 of 2008]

 

(5A)A reference in—
(a) section 4 to the expression ‘‘Department of Trade and Industry or the Economic Development Department’’ or ‘‘Department of Trade and Industry and Economic Development’’ must be read as a reference to ‘‘Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’’;
(b) sections 21A, 43, 48, 49, 53, 55, 56, 56A, 57, 75 and 114 to the expression ‘‘Trade and Industry’’ must be read as a reference to ‘‘Trade, Industry and Competition’’; and
(c) section 48 to the expression ‘‘Minister of Trade and Industry and for Economic Coordination’’ must be read as a reference to ‘‘Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition.

[Section 1(5A) inserted by section 11 of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2021 (Act No. 21 of 2021), Notice No. 771, GG45788, dated 19 January 2022]