Section 120 (Customs Act) – Regulations and rules

120. Regulations and rules

(1)     The Commissioner may make rules –

(a)     prescribing the powers, duties and hours of attendance of officers;

(b)     determining services for which charges shall be payable the rate and the method of payment of such charges and the conditions attaching to such services;

[Paragraph (b) substituted by section 39 of Act 59 of 1990]

(c)     as to the reporting inwards and outwards of ships and aircraft (including such reporting of ships or aircraft calling or landing at places not appointed as places of entry or customs and excise airports under this Act), the entry or departure of vehicles overland, the landing, loading, removal, detention, release, examination, conveyance and handling of cargo (including transit and coastwise and transshipment cargo), goods under customs control, customs controlled areas, the control of persons (including their baggage and goods) entering or leaving the Republic, the placing into or removal from any State warehouse of goods and the removal in bond of goods;

[Paragraph (c) substituted by section 40 of Act 61 of 2008]

(d)     as to the control of the storage or manufacture of goods in customs and excise warehouses (including the suitability of any buildings, plant and method of manufacture for the purposes of this Act, the hours of conducting any or all operations, the securing or marking of such plant, the inspection of such warehouses and the removal of goods from such warehouses), the testing of the output of stills, the conditions on which stills may be made, possessed, imported, disposed of or used and the fresh fruit which may be used by an agricultural distiller in the Republic for the distillation of spirits;

[Paragraph (d) substituted by section 11 of Act 19 of 1994 and section 74 of Act 30 of 1998]

(e)     as to the importation, exportation, transit or coastwise carriage of goods, the entry of goods, the payment of duties and other charges and fees, the costs which shall, for the purposes of section 46 be included in or excluded from the production cost of goods in general or of goods of any class or kind, and the movement of goods to and from any territory with the government of which an agreement has been concluded under section 49 or 51;

[Paragraph (e) substituted by section 24 of Act 36 of 2007]

(f)     prescribing the form of and the particulars to be inserted on invoices or certificates in respect of any goods to which this Act applies and which are imported into or manufactured in the Republic;

[Paragraph (f) substituted by section 36 of Act 105 of 1969]

(g)     as to the collection of duty by means of stamps, the method of applying stamps or stamp impressions to containers, the cancellation of stamps, the use of franking or counting machines, inks, dies and other appliances and materials, the accounting for stamp labels and stamp duties and the disposal of stamp labels;

(h)     as to the collection of excise duties and fuel levy, the time, manner and terms of payment and the calculation thereof;

[Paragraph (h) substituted by section 36 of Act 105 of 1969, section 35 of Act 84 of 1987 and section 39 of Act 59 of 1990]

(i)      as to the collection of duties which become payable under subsection (2) of section 58;

(j)      as to the circumstances under which licences may be granted and the manner of issuing and renewing licences;

(k)     governing the entry of goods under any item of Schedule No. 3, 4, 5, or 6 and prescribing the conditions on which such goods may be so entered or such goods may be transferred from one manufacturer or owner to another or such goods may be used, and as to the registration of manufacturers or owners so entering goods (including requirements as to the suitability of buildings, premises, storerooms and methods of manufacture for the purposes of this Act to be complied with by such manufacturers or owners), the records to be kept by such manufacturers or owners and the form of the application for registration and the particulars to be furnished by such manufacturers or owners;

[Paragraph (k) substituted by section 36 of Act 105 of 1969 and section 39 of Act 59 of 1990]

(l)      prescribing the returns and price lists to be rendered by importers or manufacturers or owners of any class or kind of goods;

[Paragraph (l) substituted by section 36 of Act 105 of 1969]

(m)    prescribing the form of any licence, bill of entry, certificate and any other document, register, stockbook or return which he considers necessary for the effective administration of this Act;

(mA) as to matters relating to security;

[Paragraph (mA) inserted by section 73 of Act 45 of 1995]

(mB) as to matters relating to electronic payment of any amount required to be paid in terms of this Act;

[Paragraph (mB) inserted by section 24 of Act 36 of 2007]

(mC) as to matters relating to the making of certain advance foreign exchange payments in relation to goods that are to be imported, through authorised dealers in foreign exchange appointed by the Minister of Finance for purposes of the Regulations issued under section 9 of the Currency and Exchanges Act, 1933 (Act 9 of 1933), including rules prescribing-

(i)      the type of advance foreign exchange payments to which the rules apply;

(ii)     requirements and procedures for notifying the Commissioner of the intention to submit an application to an authorised dealer in foreign exchange to effect an advance foreign exchange payment in respect of goods to be imported into the Republic; and

(iii)    reporting requirements for authorised dealers in foreign exchange in relation to advance foreign exchange payments by persons intending to import goods into the Republic;

[Paragraph (mC) inserted by section 18 of Act 33 of 2019 and amended by section 18 of Act 24 of 2020]

(n)     as to all matters which by this Act are required or permitted to be prescribed by rule;

[Paragraph (n) substituted by section 73 of Act 45 of 1995]

(o)     as to such other matters as are necessary or useful to be prescribed for the purposes of this Act.

[Subsection (1) amended by section 73 of Act 45 of 1995]

(2)      ……….

[Subsection (2) deleted by section 73 of Act 45 of 1995]

(3)     The rules made under this section may provide penalties for any contravention thereof or failure to comply therewith not exceeding the penalties mentioned in subsection (2) of section 78.

[Subsection (3) substituted by section 73 of Act 45 of 1995]