19. Customs and excise warehouses

(1)     The Commissioner may license at any place appointed for that purpose under the provisions of this Act, warehouses (to be known as customs and excise warehouses) approved by him for the storage of such dutiable imported or such dutiable locally-produced goods or for the manufacture of such dutiable goods from such imported or such locally-produced materials or such imported and such locally-produced materials as he may approve in respect of each such warehouse.

[Subsection (1) substituted by section 7 of Act 105 of 1969]

(2)     Such warehouses may be licensed either for the storage of dutiable goods (to be known as customs and excise storage warehouses) or for the manufacture of dutiable goods (to be known as customs and excise manufacturing warehouses), but the Commissioner may license a storage and a manufacturing warehouse on the same premises provided they are separated in a manner approved by him.

(3)     The Controller may, in addition to any lock used by the licensee, cause any customs and excise warehouse to be locked with a State lock for such period as he deems fit, and no person shall remove or break such lock or enter such warehouse or remove any goods therefrom without the permission of the Controller while it is so locked.

(4)    

(a)     The Controller may at any time take stock of the goods in any customs and excise warehouse and duty shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (5) of section 20, forthwith be paid upon any deficiency.

(b)     If the stock is found to be greater than the quantity which should be in such warehouse, the excess shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (18) of section 75, be debited to stock and the duty thereon paid on entry for home consumption.

[Paragraph (b) substituted by section 3 of Act 95 of 1965]

(5)     The State or any officer shall in no case be liable for any loss of or damage of whatever nature to any goods in a customs and excise warehouse or for any loss or damage sustained by reason of wrong delivery of such goods.

(6)     In addition to any liability for duty incurred by any person under any other provision of this Act, the licensee of a customs and excise warehouse shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (7), be liable for the duty on all goods stored or manufactured in such warehouse from the time of receipt into such warehouse of such goods or the time of manufacture in such warehouse of such goods, as the case may be.

(7)     Subject to the provisions of subsection (8), any liability for duty in terms of subsection (6) shall cease when it is proved by the licensee concerned that the goods in question have been duly entered in terms of section 20(4) and have been delivered or exported in terms of such entry.

[Subsection (7) substituted by section 13 of Act 45 of 1995]

(8)     If the licensee concerned fails to submit any such proof as is referred to in subsection (7) within the period for which goods of that class or kind may be stored or kept in a customs and excise warehouse or if the licensee commits an offence under this Act in respect of any goods stored or kept in such warehouse he shall upon demand by the Controller forthwith pay the duty due on such goods.

[Subsection (8) substituted by section 13 of Act 45 of 1995]

(9)    

(a)     Except with the permission of the Commissioner, which shall only be granted in circumstances which he on good cause shown considers to be reasonable and subject to such conditions as he may impose in each case, no imported goods entered for storage or excisable or fuel levy goods manufactured in a customs and excise warehouse, excluding spirits or wine in the process of maturation or maceration, shall be retained in any customs and excise warehouse for a period of more than two years from the time the imported goods were first entered for storage or from the time the excisable or fuel levy goods were deemed to have been manufactured in terms of section 44(2).

(b)     ……….

[Subsection (b) deleted by section 30 of Act 61 of 2008]

[Subsection (9) added by section 13 of Act 45 of 1995 and substituted by section 39 of Act 19 of 2001]

(10)   Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act, the Commissioner may permit the licensee of a customs and excise storage or manufacturing warehouse to make use of a computer system to record and control the manufacture of goods, goods stored or manufactured in, received into and removed from such warehouse, if the-

(a)     licensee of such warehouse is accredited in terms of section 64E; and

(b)     Commissioner is satisfied that the licensee’s computer system is capable of recording and controlling goods manufactured or stored, received and removed and identifying those goods by clear references to-

(i)      relative bills of entry processed in connection therewith;

(ii)     a prescribed certificate, invoice or other prescribed or approved document issued in respect thereof as contemplated in section 38(4) or (5); and

(c)     licensee is able to comply with any reasonable requirements the Commissioner may prescribe by rule or impose in a specific case to ensure the information contained in such a computer system is secure and is preserved in such a manner that it is readily available to be accessed by an officer for audit purposes.

[Subsection (10) added by section 30 of Act  61 of 2009 – commencement date to be proclaimed]