Johannesburg: National Treasury and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) have announced amendments to the Export Regulations to facilitate zero-rating of movable goods when delivered for export from South Africa to terminal operators and port authorities. This move is aimed at addressing procedural challenges faced under the current regulations.
According to South African Government News Agency, the amendments pertain to the section of the regulations specifying procedures for vendors opting to zero-rate the export of goods to a qualifying purchaser when initially delivered to a harbor. Currently, vendors must ensure goods are delivered to entities like the port authority or the master of a ship, or are within the control area of the airport authority to qualify for zero-rating.
However, National Treasury noted practical difficulties in the application of this requirement, particularly in contexts such as the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT). RBCT, which is privately owned, operates coal terminals within the Richards Bay harbor precinct using infrastructure provided by Transnet National Port Authority (TNPA). The strict interpretation of the Export Regulations mandating delivery to the port authority, which would be TNPA and not RBCT, has presented challenges since TNPA does not manage the terminal.
The recent amendments were published under section 74(1), in conjunction with paragraph (d) of the definition of 'exported' in section 1(1) of the Value-Added Tax Act, 1991, along with an Explanatory Memorandum. The accompanying documents are available on the National Treasury website.