PUBLISHER: South African Revenue Service (www.sars.gov.za)
Dear Valued Client
SARS invites traders to provide comment on the published draft rules under sections 40 and 41 of the Customs and Excise Act to clarify how importers must adjust bills of entry where transfer pricing adjustments affect the customs value of imported goods.
Where a multinational group makes a post-import transfer pricing adjustment (typically through amended invoices or debit or credit notes issued by a related foreign supplier), the importer is required to formally disclose the adjustment to SARS by submitting a notification to the Commissioner. This notification must be accompanied by prescribed supporting documentation, including the amended invoices or debit/credit notes, the applicable transfer pricing policy, and a Customs Value Adjustment Calculation (CVAC).
Once SARS has reviewed the submission and formally accepted the CVAC, the importer must follow one of two prescribed outcomes:
- Where additional customs duty and VAT are payable, payment must be made within 14 days from the date on which the Commissioner notifies the importer in writing of acceptance of the adjustment. Payment is effected via a Customs and Excise Billing Declaration (CEB01), using the payment reference number issued by SARS; or
- Where the adjustment results in an overpayment, the adjustment process itself constitutes an application for a refund, which must be processed through the prescribed voucher of correction mechanism.
These rules are primarily relevant to multinational enterprises trading with related parties, as transfer pricing adjustments typically arise from year-end or periodic true-ups within group pricing arrangements. The draft rules do not introduce a new valuation principle, but rather establish a formal, standardised post-import process for adjusting customs declarations and settling any resulting duty or VAT differences where transfer pricing affects the declared customs value.
Clients are invited to either submit comments directly to South African Revenue Service using the prescribed SARS comment sheet by 26 January 2026, or to forward their comments to Savino Del Bene for consolidated submission to SARS, in which case all inputs must be received by 26 January 2026.
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