| 120.10 | Any person who contravenes any provision of these rules or who fails to comply with any such provision with which it is his duty to comply, shall, even where such contravention or failure is not elsewhere declared an offence, be guilty of an offence. |
| 120.11 | Any person guilty of an offence under these rules shall, where no punishment is expressly provided for, for such offence, be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding R8 000 or treble the value of the goods in respect of which such offence was committed, whichever is the greater, or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years, or to both such fine and such imprisonment |
| 120.12 | [Rule 120.12 repealed by section 14 of Notice No. R.1768, GG45931, dated 18 February 2022] |
| 120.13 | For the purposes of section 120(1)(mC) the rules numbered 120.13 followed by further digits relate to advance foreign exchange payments in relation to goods that are to be imported |
For purposes of the rules under section 120(1)(mC), unless the context otherwise indicates—
“advance payment notice” or “APN” means a notice of intention to apply for advance foreign exchange payment contemplated in rule 120.13.03(a);
“advance payment notice reference number” or “APN reference number” means a unique reference number assigned by SARS in terms of rule 120.13.04;
“advance payment” means an advance foreign exchange payment contemplated in rule 120.13.02;
“authorised dealer” means an authorised dealer in foreign exchange referred to in section 120(1)(mC);
“bank generated advance import payment reference number” or “BGA reference number” means a reference number in relation to an advance foreign exchange payment issued to an importer by an authorised dealer in circumstances set out in rule 120.13.05A;
[Definition inserted by section 1 of Notice No. R.4134, GG49792, dated 1 December 2023 - effective 1 December 2023]
“Currency and Exchanges Manual for Authorised Dealers” means the Currency and Exchanges Manual for Authorised Dealers issued by the Financial Surveillance Department of the South African Reserve Bank under the powers delegated to that department by the Minister of Finance in terms of regulation 22E of the Exchange Control Regulations, 1961, and which is available on the South African Reserve Bank website; and
“eFiling” means a SARS software application available on the SARS website which enables SARS and registered electronic users to generate and deliver electronic filing transactions.
| 120.13.02 | Application of rules |
The rules numbered 120.13 apply for purposes of any advance foreign exchange payment which exceeds R50 000,00 in respect of import categories 101 (01 – 10) as set out in Section J. (H)(i) of the Currency and Exchanges Manual for Authorised Dealers.
| 120.13.03 | Procedures for notifying Commissioner of intention to submit application for advance payment to authorised dealer |
| (a) | An importer intending to apply to an authorised dealer to effect an advance payment must, subject to rule 59A.03(1)(a)(iv), before submitting such application to the authorised dealer notify the Commissioner of that intention by submitting an advance payment notice via eFiling. |
| (b) | An APN referred to in paragraph (a) must reflect the following information: |
| (i) | The customs and excise code of the importer; |
| (ii) | the following additional details in respect of the importer: |
| (cc) | name, telephone number and e-mail address of contact person; |
| (iii) | the following details in respect of the person who will be making payment on behalf of the importer: |
| (bb) | in the case of a juristic entity, the registration number or the number of its founding document; |
| (iv) | the South African Reserve Bank code of the authorised dealer who will make the advance payment; |
| (v) | the following details in respect of the advance payment: |
| (aa) | Type of foreign currency; |
| (bb) | amount in foreign currency; and |
| (cc) | estimated amount in South African Rand; |
| (vi) | the reason for intending to make the advance payment; |
| (vii) | the country from which the relevant goods will be exported to the Republic; |
| (viii) | the name of the supplier of the relevant goods; |
| (ix) | the first APN reference number assigned by SARS in relation to the goods, in the case where the financing is split between a number of authorised dealers; |
| (x) | the number of consignments in which the relevant goods will be imported, which must be indicated by a “1” if the actual number is not known; |
| (xi) | the following details in relation to the document used to prove the intended transaction and to be presented to the authorised dealer in support of the application to effect advance payment: |
| (bb) | date of document; and |
| (cc) | reference number or unique identification number reflected on the document; |
| (xii) | the Balance of Payment (BOP) reporting category code contemplated in rule 120.13.02, also indicating the relevant subcategory; and |
| (xiii) | any other information required on the electronic notification. |
| (c) | An importer who submitted an APN must, subject to paragraph (d), upon discovery that any information provided on the APN is incorrect and after confirming that payment has not been effected by the relevant authorised dealer yet, amend the APN by submitting an amended version of the APN to replace the APN containing the incorrect information; |
| (d) | An APN may not be amended after payment has been effected by the authorised dealer indicated on the notification. |
| (e) | An APN automatically lapses if no payment is made by the authorised dealer indicated on the notification within 30 days of the date thereof. |
| (f) | This rule is subject to rule 120.13.05A. |
[Rule 120(120.13.03)(f) inserted by section 2 of Notice No. R.4134, GG49792, dated 1 December 2023 - effective 1 December 2023]
| 120.13.04 | Issuing of APN reference number |
| (a) | An importer who submitted an APN as contemplated in rule 120.13.03 is entitled to be notified of— |
| (i) | the outcome of any data validation process conducted by SARS in respect of the APN; and |
| (ii) | the APN reference number assigned in respect of a validated APN. |
| (b) | An APN reference number referred to in paragraph (a)(ii) must be referenced on that importer’s application to effect an advance payment submitted to an authorised dealer. |
| (c) | The authorised dealer indicated on the APN is entitled to be notified by SARS of the APN reference number assigned in respect of a validated APN. |
| (d) | Paragraphs (b) and (c) are subject to rule 120.13.05A in circumstances described in that rule. |
[Rule 120(120.13.04) substituted by section 3 of Notice No. R.4134, GG49792, dated 1 December 2023 - effective 1 December 2023]
| 120.13.04A | Requirements for authorised dealers in relation to advance payments |
| (a) | An authorised dealer may not grant an application to effect an advance import payment if such application does not reflect an APN reference number. |
| (b) | An authorised dealer intending to effect an advance payment must, by making use of the APN reference number received in terms of rule 120.13.04(c), verify information supplied by an applicant for advance payment. |
| (c) | Paragraph (a) and (b) are subject to rule 120.13.05A in circumstances described in that rule. |
[Rule 120(120.13.04A) inserted by section 4 of Notice No. R.4134, GG49792, dated 1 December 2023 - effective 1 December 2023]
| 120.13.05 | APN Reference number to be reflected on import bill of entry |
An importer must, when submitting an import bill of entry relating to goods in respect of which an APN reference number was assigned as contemplated in rule 120.13.04(b), indicate the APN reference number on the bill of entry, provided the APN to which the reference number relates did not lapse in terms of rule 120.13.03(e).
| 120.13.05A | Requirements and procedures for authorised dealers issuing bank generated advance import payment reference numbers |
| (i) | in exceptional circumstances where the authorised dealer who is to effect an advance payment on behalf of an importer considers obtaining an APN reference number from SARS before payment is effected as impracticable; or |
| (ii) | where the importer is unable to notify the Commissioner of the importer’s intention to submit an application for advance payment to an authorised dealer in order to obtain an APN reference number as required in terms of rule 120.13.03, due to a SARS systems failure; |
| (iii) | where the importer included an APN reference number on that importer’s application to an authorised dealer to effect an advance payment as required in terms of rule 120.13.04A(a), which that authorised dealer could not verify with SARS as contemplated in rule 120.13.04A(b), due to a SARS systems failure; or |
| (iv) | where the importer applied to an authorised dealer to effect an advance payment of an amount not exceeding R50 000,00 in respect of which no APN is required, which amount subsequently exceeded R50 000,00 due to currency fluctuations before payment could be effected by the authorised dealer. |
| (b) | An authorised dealer may in circumstances set out in paragraph (a)— |
| (i) | generate and issue a BGA reference number to an importer; and |
| (ii) | effect the advance import payment despite rule 120.13.04(b) which requires the authorised dealer to verify information supplied by an applicant for advance payment. |
[Rule 120(120.13.05A) inserted by section 5 of Notice No. R.4134, GG49792, dated 1 December 2023 - effective 1 December 2023]
| 120.13.05B | Requirements and procedures for importers where authorised dealers issued bank generated advance import payment reference numbers |
| (a) | An importer to whom a BGA reference number was issued in terms of rule 120.13.05A(b) must prior to submission of the bill of entry notify the Commissioner of the issuance of the BGA reference number by the authorised dealer by— |
| (i) | submitting an APN and indicating the BGA reference number in the case where no APN was submitted before payment was made by the authorised dealer, or |
| (ii) | amending the APN previously submitted and also indicating the BGA reference number in the case where an APN had been submitted but the APN reference number could not be verified. |
| (b) | An importer may, despite rule 120.13.03(d), when amending a previously submitted APN in terms of paragraph (a)(ii), amend information indicated on such APN to reflect current circumstances, subject to any restrictions on key information fields indicated on the APN. |
[Rule 120(120.13.05B) inserted by section 5 of Notice No. R.4134, GG49792, dated 1 December 2023 - effective 1 December 2023]
| 120.13.06 | Communication through eFiling for purposes of advance payments |
| (a) | The rules for electronic communication published in terms of section 255 of the Tax Administration Act by Government Notice No. 644 dated 25 August 2014, apply for purposes of electronic communication contemplated in the rules under section 120(1)(mC), subject to paragraph (b). |
[Rule 120.13(120.13.06)(a) substituted by section 4 of Notice No. R.2415, GG46789, dated 26 August 2022]
| (b) | The rules for electronic communication referred to in paragraph (a) apply with any necessary changes as the context may require, and in such application any reference in those rules to— |
| (i) | a tax Act must be read as including a reference to the Customs and Excise Act or the rules thereunder; |
| (ii) | an electronic filing system must be read as including a reference to eFiling for purposes of submission of an APN and related messages in terms of the rules under section 120(1)(mC); |
| (iii) | an electronic filing transaction must be read as including a reference to submission of an APN in terms of the rules under section 120(1)(mC); |
| (iv) | an electronic communicator or registered electronic user must be read as including a reference to an importer registered in terms of section 59A as an electronic user; |
| (v) | a registered tax practitioner must be read as including a reference to a person registered in terms of section 59A as an electronic user and who submits APNs electronically as a clearing agent, registered agent or other representative on behalf of another; and |
| (vi) | a taxpayer must be read as including a reference to a registered importer. |
| (c) | In the event of any inconsistency between a provision of the rules under section 120(1)(mC) and the rules for electronic communication referred to in paragraph (a), the provision of the former prevails. |
[Rule 120.13 inserted by section 2 of Notice No. R.1563, GG45570, dated 3 December 2021 - effective 3 December 2021]
