| (a) | Liability for duty on any goods to which section 10 relates shall commence from the time when such goods are in terms of that section deemed to have been imported into the Republic: Provided that, subject to the provisions of subsection (7), any such liability shall cease if it is proved that such goods (excluding, save in so far as the rules otherwise provide, goods which are missing from any individual package and in respect of which any customs duty, surcharge or fuel levy, each taken separately, does not exceed twenty-five rand) were not landed at any place in the Republic. |
| (b) | Liability for export duty on any goods specified in Part 6 of Schedule No. 1 shall commence— |
| (i) | when the export bill of entry in respect of such goods is submitted before export in terms of section 38(3)(a); or |
| (ii) | in circumstances where no export bill of entry is submitted before export, when the goods are deemed to have been exported in terms of section 38(3)(b). |
[Section 44(1)(b) inserted by section 14(a) of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2020 (Act No. 24 of 2020), GG44080, dated 20 January 2021 - paragraphs have been renumbered]
| (2) | Any excisable goods or fuel levy goods shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to have been manufactured at that stage in the manufacturing process when the said goods have acquired the essential characteristics of and are in the opinion of the Commissioner capable of use as such excisable goods or fuel levy goods, and liability for duty shall commence at the said stage. |
| (3) | The master of a ship or pilot of an aircraft or carrier of goods by means of any other vehicle shall be liable for the duty on all goods which are removed from that ship, aircraft or vehicle at a place in the Republic to which they are not consigned, and such liability shall continue until the goods have been duly entered or otherwise accounted for. |
| (4) | The master, pilot or carrier concerned shall be liable for the duty on all goods deemed in terms of section 10 to have been imported, except goods in respect of which a bill of lading, air consignment note or other document was issued on loading of such goods onto the ship, aircraft or vehicle by means of which they were imported stating that the said goods were accepted for conveyance at the risk of the owner thereof in all respects and not only as regards risk in respect of damage to such goods, provided such goods have not been landed and placed in a transit shed appointed or prescribed under section 6(1). |
| (4A) | [Section 44(4A) has been deleted] |
| (5) | The liability of the master or pilot or other carrier for duty in terms of subsection (4) shall cease— |
| (a) | upon lawful delivery of the goods, after due entry thereof has been made, to the importer or his agent; or |
| (b) | if due entry of the goods has not been made— |
| (i) | upon delivery thereof to the State Warehouse or other place indicated for the purposes of this section by the Controller; or |
| (d) | [Section 44(5)(d) deleted by section 136(b) of Act 45 of 2003] |
| (e) | upon delivery of the goods, if containerized, to a licensed remover of goods in bond for transporting the goods for purposes of examination as contemplated in section 4(8A); |
[Section 44(5)(e) inserted by section 14(b) of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2020 (Act No. 24 of 2020), GG44080, dated 20 January 2021]
| (5A) | The liability of a container operator for duty in terms of subsection (6)(a) shall cease— |
| (a) | in respect of goods which are containerized, upon lawful delivery thereof, after due entry thereof has been made, to the importer or his agent; or |
| (b) | in respect of goods containerized in— |
| (ii) | other containers delivered to a container operator as contemplated in subsection (5)(c) and specified in a list to be compiled by the container operator concerned, |
upon delivery thereof to a depot operator; or
| (c) | in respect of any of such goods of which due entry has not been made, upon delivery thereof to the State warehouse or other place indicated for the purposes of this section by the Controller. |
| (5AA) | The liability of a licensed remover of goods in bond for duty in terms of subsection (6)(bA) shall cease— |
| (a) | in respect of goods which are containerized, upon lawful delivery thereof, after due entry thereof has been made, to the importer or his or her agent; or |
| (b) | in respect of containers delivered to a licensed remover of goods in bond as contemplated in subsection (5)(e) and specified in a list to be compiled by the licensed remover of goods in bond concerned, upon delivery thereof, to a depot operator. |
[Section 44(5AA) inserted by section 14(c) of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2020 (Act No. 24 of 2020), GG44080, dated 20 January 2021]
| (5B) | The liability of a depot operator for duty in terms of subsection (6)(b) shall cease— |
| (a) | in respect of goods containerized in L.C.L. containers and the other containers referred to in subsection (5A)(b)(ii), upon lawful delivery thereof, after due entry thereof has been made, to the importer or his agent; or |
| (b) | in respect of any of such goods of which due entry has not been made, upon delivery thereof to the State warehouse or other place indicated for the purposes of this section by the Controller. |
(5C)
| (a) | The degrouping operator shall be liable for the duty on all goods received by the— |
| (ii) | degrouping operator from the transit shed operator (as defined by rule) where the degrouping operator takes delivery from the transit shed operator at the transit shed; |
| (iii) | degrouping operator from another degrouping operator. |
| (b) | The liability for duty of the degrouping operator shall cease— |
| (i) | upon receipt of such goods by any other degrouping operator in accordance with the procedures prescribed by rule in terms of section 64G; |
| (ii) | upon lawful delivery after due entry thereof to the importer or the importer's agent; |
| (iii) | in respect of any goods of which due entry has not been made upon delivery thereof to the state warehouse or other place indicated for the purposes of this section by the Controller; |
| (iv) | on complying with any condition or procedure prescribed by rule in terms of section 64G. |
| (5D) | [Section 44(5D) has been deleted. |
| (6) | In all cases where the master, pilot or other carrier is not liable for the duty on any imported goods or where the liability of the said master, pilot or other carrier has ceased in respect of such goods in terms of this section, liability for duty thereon shall, subject to the provisions of Chapter VII, rest— |
| (a) | in the case contemplated in subsection (5)(c), on the container operator concerned; |
| (b) | in the case contemplated in subsection (5A)(b), on the depot operator concerned; |
| (bA) | in the case contemplated in subsection (5)(e), on the licensed remover of goods in bond concerned; and |
[Section 44(6)(b)(bA) inserted by section 14(d) of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2020 (Act No. 24 of 2020), GG44080, dated 20 January 2021]
| (c) | in any other case, on the importer or the owner of such goods or any person who assumes such liability for any purpose under the provisions of this Act, subject to the approval of the Commissioner and such conditions as he may determine. |
| (7) | Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this section contained, no importer shall be granted a refund of customs duty, excise duty, surcharge or fuel levy paid in respect of any goods missing from any individual imported package, if such customs duty, excise duty, surcharge or fuel levy, each taken separately, does not exceed twenty-five rand. |
| (8) | The manufacturer, owner, seller or purchaser of any excisable goods or fuel levy goods shall, subject to the provisions of Chapter VII, be liable for the duty on such goods, and his liability shall continue until such goods have been duly entered and the duty due thereon paid. |
| (8A) | Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act contained, any person who owns, purchases, removes, receives, takes, delivers or deals with or in any imported goods or excisable goods which should have been duly entered in any other Member State of SACU, shall be liable for the duty on such goods brought into the Republic from such State, and if the question arises whether such goods have been duly entered, it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, that such goods have not been so entered, and such goods shall be subject to the provisions of this Act as if they were goods which have, contrary to the provisions of subsection 47A(1), not been duly entered in the Republic. |
| (9) | For the purposes of subsection (5) an entry by bill of sight shall be deemed to be due entry. |
| (10) | Any duty for which any person is liable in terms of this section shall be payable upon demand by the Commissioner. |
(11)
| (a) | Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act, but subject to the provisions of sections 47(10) and (11), 65(7) and (7A) and 69(6) and (7) and subsection (12) of this section, except where this subsection otherwise provides in respect of any matter to which any of such provisions relate, there shall be no liability for any underpayment of duty on any goods— |
| (i) | after a period of two years from the date of acceptance of a bill of entry; or |
| (ii) | where such underpayment was discovered as a result of, during the course of, or following upon, an inspection and that underpayment occurred on a date earlier than two years prior to the date on which such inspection commenced: |
Provided that such liability shall, subject to paragraph (c), not cease even if an underpayment is discovered after an earlier assessment and payment of an amount in respect of any inspection during the period concerned, where such underpayment is the result of—
| (cc) | non-disclosure of any material facts; or |
| (dd) | any false declaration for the purposes of the Act. |
| (b) | Where any period is prescribed in this Act for books, accounts or other documents in whatever form to be kept available for production to or inspection by an officer, any such period shall, subject to the provisions of paragraph (c), be calculated from a date prior to the date on which production is demanded or the inspection commences. |
| (c) | Except where the Commissioner may otherwise determine in exceptional circumstances, where any underpayment arises from the circumstances contemplated in the proviso to paragraph (a), there shall be no limitation on the period of liability for underpayment of duty or the period for which any books, accounts or any other documents, in whatever form available, are required to be produced to or may be inspected by an officer. |
| (11A) | Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act, there shall be no liability for any underpayment on any goods if the duty which should have been paid was, in accordance with the practice generally prevailing at the time of entry for home consumption, not paid or the full amount of duty which should have been paid at the time of entry for home consumption was, in accordance with such practice, not paid, unless the Commissioner is satisfied that the amount of duty which should have been paid was not paid, or that the full amount of duty was not paid due to fraud or misrepresentation or non-disclosure of material facts or any false declaration for purposes of this Act. |
| (12) | Any person who makes a false statement concerning the origin of goods or who makes use of any declaration or document containing any such statement as a result of which such person obtains entry of imported goods at a preferential rate of duty as specified in Part 201 of Schedule No. 1 in accordance with the provisions of any agreement contemplated in section 49 or 51 shall, for a period of three years prior to the date on which such false statement was made or made use of, in addition to any other liability incurred in terms of this Act, be liable for the payment of duties at the general rate specified in Part 1 of Schedule No. 1 in respect of the goods at the time of entry: Provided that the Commissioner may on good cause shown reduce such period. |
