This glossary describes some of the terms used on the SARS website. While every effort has been made to present accurate and up-to-date definitions, this glossary should be used as an interpretive aid only and not as an authority. SARS will not be liable for any damages of whatsoever nature arising out of the use of, reference to or reliance on any of the definitions contained herein.
 
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A

AA88
Agent appointment process

ABSA
Amalgamated Banks of South Africa
 
AC
Assessment Centre
 
ACB
Automated Clearing Bureau
 
ACC
Account
 
 
Accelerated depreciation
Any method of depreciation used for accounting or Income Tax purposes that allows greater deductions in the earlier years of the life of an asset.
 
Acceptable documents
Acceptable documents are documents that form part of the defined Scanning Strategy.
 
Access
Gaining entry into, instructing or communicating with the logical, arithmetical or memory function resources of a computer system or computer network.
 
ACM
Automated Cargo Management
 
Ad Valorem duties and taxes
Duties and taxes which are calculated on the basis of value.
 
Ad Valorem Products
These products are generally those which are seen as ‘luxury items’ and include, amongst others, Motor Vehicles, Electronic Equipment, Cosmetics, Perfumeries and other products. They will be subject to Ad Valorem Excise Duty.
 
Addressee
A person who is intended by the originator to receive the electronic message, but does not include an intermediary.
 
Adjustments estimate
Presentation to Parliament of the amendments to be made to the appropriations voted in the main budget for the year.
 
Administrative non-compliance Penalty
An administrative non-compliance penalty is a penalty imposed by SARS in accordance with Chapter 15 of the TAA.
 
Administrator of a Trust and/or Fund
A member of a board that manages the affairs of the fund. Any references to trustees and/or fund administrators includes liquidators of retirement funds.
 
ADR1
Alternate Dispute Resolution – Notice of Objection
 
ADR2
Alternate Dispute Resolution – Notice of Appeal
 
AEO
Authorised Economic Operator
 
AFS
Annual financial statements

Aggregate
The total amount payable by the purchaser in respect of the acquisition of the immovable property.
 
AGOA
African Growth and Opportunity Act
 
Aircraft general declaration
Declaration conforming to the provisions of Annex 9 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, Chicago 1944. The general declaration is the basic document on arrival and departure providing information concerning the aircraft itself and summary information relating to the itinerary, crew, passengers and health.
 
Airport Transit Sheds
The airport transit shed operator is either the airline operator or another agent acting on behalf of the airline to store the goods until released by Customs.
 
Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR)
ADR is a form of dispute resolution other than litigation, or adjudication through the courts. It is less formal, less cumbersome and less adversarial and a more cost effective and speedier process of resolving a tax dispute with the South African Revenue Service.
 
Alternate period
A period, whether of 12 months or not, commencing on the day following the last day of the preceding alternate period in relation to the employer and ending on a date falling not more than 14 days before or after the last day of February, or such greater number of days as the Commissioner, having regard to the circumstances of the case, may allow.
 
Annual equivalent
An amount equal to the sum of net remuneration multiplied by the ratio which a full year bears to the period in respect of which such net remuneration is payable.
 
Annual payment
An amount of net remuneration that is, in accordance with the employee’s conditions of service or the employer’s practice, paid in a lump sum to the employee or it is an amount that is calculated without reference to a period.
 
Annuity
Usually a fixed sum of money or benefit paid to a person in monthly, quarterly, yearly or similar, recurrent instalments.
 
AP34
Penalty assessment notice
 
APE
Approved exporter
 
APP
Advance Passenger Processing
 
Appeal
The act by which a person who is aggrieved by a tax decision seeks redress before a competent authority.
 
Appropriation
The approval by Parliament of spending from the National Revenue Fund, or by a provincial legislature from the Provincial Revenue Fund.
 
Approved Fund
A fund, the rules of which, have been approved by the Commissioner for SARS in accordance with the requirements as laid out in the definition of “provident fund”, “pension fund”, “pension preservation fund”, “provident preservation fund” and “retirement annuity fund” in section 1 of the IT Act.
 
ARP
Automated Reconciliation Process
 
ASD
Application System Development
 
Assessment
An assessment as defined in terms of section 1 of the TAA and section 1 of the IT Act.
 
Assessment of duties and taxes
Declaration conforming to the provisions of Annex 9 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, Chicago 1944. The general declaration is the basic document on arrival and departure providing information concerning the aircraft itself and summary information relating to the itinerary, crew, passengers and health.
 
Asset price bubble
A condition occurring when prices for a category of assets rise above the level justified by economic fundamentals.
 
Assignment field
A field type within the SAP system that is used as a unique reconciliation key in order to group or assign line items to each other, such as bank statement entries to cash book entries.
 
Association not for gain
A religious institution or other society, association or organisation (including an educational institution of a public character) which is not carried on for profit and is required to use any property or income solely in the furtherance of its aims and objects. It could also qualify as a “welfare organisation” if it conducts certain activities. The VAT414 guide deals specifically with associations not for gain and welfare organisations.
 
ATA Carnet
An international Customs document which, issued under the terms of the ATA Convention and the Istanbul Convention, incorporates an internationally valid guarantee and may be used, in lieu of national Customs documents and as security for import duties and taxes, to cover the temporary admission of goods and, where appropriate, the transit of goods. It may be accepted for controlling the temporary exportation and re-importation of goods but, in this case, the international guarantee does not apply. Notes: 1. The ATA carnet may not, in principle, be used for the temporary admission of means of transport (See Commentary 2 to Article 1, Annex A of the Istanbul Convention). 2. Instead of “import duties and taxes” the ATA Convention uses the term “import duties”, giving it the same scope as the Glossary gives to the former expression.
 
ATA Convention
The expression commonly used to refer to the Customs Convention on the ATA carnet for the temporary admission of goods (ATA Convention) adopted by the Customs Co-operation Council in Brussels in 1961.
 
ATAF
African Tax Administration Forum
 
ATM
Automatic Teller Machine
 
ATO
Australian Tax Office, the Revenue Authority of Australia
 
Audit-based Control
Measures by which the Customs satisfy themselves as to the accuracy and authenticity of declarations through the examination of the relevant books, records, business systems and commercial data held by persons concerned. Note: Audit-based control is dealt with in the General Annex, Chapter 6 of the revised Kyoto Convention
 
Audit category
A = high risk audit
 
Audit pool
This refers to the pool of cases on Case Management and Tracking system from which the Manager can select cases.
 
Authorisation letter
A written authorisation granted by the Commissioner or by a senior SARS official to a SARS official under section 41 of the Tax Administration Act, authorising the SARS official to conduct an inspection, field audit or/and a criminal investigation for the purpose of administration of a tax Act.
 
Authorised Debit Push
These are payment transactions initiated on the eFiling site and authorised for each transaction. The transaction is only successful after the bank has confirmed that the transaction went through. This payment mechanism utilises the inter-banking facility, ACB that involves the initiation of payment instructions from the originating bank to the client’s bank. The Debit Push mechanism may reverse due to insufficient funds once the request is processed by the originating bank. This is similar to a debit order.
 
Authorised User
That is a person authorised by a licensed exchange to perform one or more securities services in terms of the exchange rules, and includes an external authorised user, where appropriate
 
AVS
Account Verification Solution

B

B coded
Estate

 

B/F
Brought forward

 

BAC
Bid adjudication committee – a committee constituted to assist the Commissioner in executing his/her PFMA responsibility of ensuring that SARS has and maintains an appropriate procurement and provisioning system which is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost effective. This committee was previously known as the procurement committee.

 

Back scan
Copies of forms that have already been processed via an electronic channel but need to be digitally stored in Documentum for compliance reasons.

 

Backdated salary
Salary, wage or similar remuneration payable by the employer to an employee retrospectively, but does not include any bonus.
 
BAIT
Business and Individual Taxes

 

Balance of payments
The balance of payments of a country is the record of all economic transactions between the residents (individuals, firms and government bodies) of the country and the rest of the world in a particular period (over a quarter of a year or more commonly over a year).

 

Balance of remuneration
Any amount of remuneration after deducting the allowable deductions for employees’ tax purposes.

 

BAM
Business Area Manager

 

Baseline
The initial allocations used during the budget process, derived from the previous year’s forward estimates.

 

Basic Amount
The basic amount is the latest assessed taxable income and excludes any taxable capital gain and the taxable portion of any lump sum, and also includes an 8% increase for each year from year last assessed.

 

Batho Pele
A government initiative aimed at “putting people first”

 

BCOCC
Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee

 

BCSA
Banking Council South Africa

 

BDC
Bulk Data Capture

 

BDCS
Bulk Data Capture System

 

BEC
The Bid Evaluation Committee, also known as the Tender Evaluation Committee is a committee of representatives from Procurement, BEE, Finance and Business which is responsible for the evaluation of tenders.

BEE
Black Economic Empowerment

 

Beneficial owner of shares
A person who is entitled to the benefit of the dividend attaching to a share.

 

Beneficiated/beneficiation
The treatment of raw material (such as iron ore) to improve physical or chemical properties especially in preparation for smelting.
 
Beneficiary of a trust
Any person who has a vested or contingent interest in all or a part of the receipts, accruals or the assets of a trust. The benefit available to a beneficiary depends on the settlor’s purpose when creating the trust and on the extent of the property held in trust.

BFE
Branch Front End – the customer-facing part of a SARS branch that directly engages with taxpayers/traders.

 

Bills of landing
A contract between shipper and shipping company for the conveyance of certain goods from a specified port to another specified port.

 

BIU
Business Intelligence Unit

 

BLNS
Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland

 

BM
Branch managers

 

BO
Branch Office

 

Boarding and search of means of transport
The operations under which means of transport are visited by Customs for: (a) collection of information from the person responsible for the means of transport and examination of commercial, transport or other documents concerning the means of transport, the cargo, stores, crew and passengers; and (b) inspection, examination and search of the means of transport.

 

BOE
Branch Operations and Engagements

 

Bona fide donation
A bona fide donation is a voluntary, gratuitous gift disposed of by the donor out of liberality or generosity, where the donee is enriched and the donor impoverished. There may be no quid pro quo, no reciprocal obligations and no personal benefit for the donor. If the donee gives any consideration at all it is not a donation. The donor may not impose conditions which could enable him or any connected person in relation to himself to derive some direct or indirect benefit from the application of the donation.

 

Bond
An undertaking in due legal form by which a person binds himself to the Customs to do or not to do some specified act.

 

Bonded warehouse
A building or other secured area licensed in terms of the Customs and Excise Act where goods can be stored while the duty and tax on it is suspended.

 

BPMS
Business Process Management Solution

 

BRA
Business Resolution Agent

 

Break bulk cargo
Goods packed loose and individually into containers and transported as such. May be allowed to be stored in empty containers while at sea for convenience purposes only, but must be removed from the containers before being landed at the port of discharge.

 

BRICS
The world’s top emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa

 

Brokers
A labour broker is a person who, for reward, provides and remunerates workers for a client and is either in or not in possession of an exemption certificate (IRP 30). The labour broker either makes available his / her own employees to perform work for a client or he / she procures workers for a client. The labour broker pays the workers.

 

BRS
Business Requirement Specification

 

BSDOC
File back scanning coversheet

 

Budget balance
The difference between expenditure and revenue. If expenditure exceeds revenue, the budget is in deficit – or, if the reverse is true, it is in surplus.

 

Bulk asset request
Request for more than one of exactly the same asset (multiple assets purchase request).

 

Bull
Male cattle

 

Bunkering of vessels
Supplying bunker fuel to a ship for propulsion of the vessel or for the operation of any equipment on the vessel.

 

Business day
Any day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday. For the purposes of determining the days or a period allowed for complying with the provisions of Chapter 9 of the Tax Administration Act No.28 of 2011 (Dispute Resolution), excludes the days between 16 December of each year and 15 January of the following year, both days inclusive.

 

Business owner
The owner of the application or system to be released, changed or enhanced.

 

Business partner
A natural or legal person or a group of natural or legal persons, not part of the business organisation but with whom a business interest exists.

 

Business service
Services as defined in the service catalogue.

 

Buyer
An appointed person responsible for procuring goods (IT and non-IT) or services requested through the purchase requisition process.

C

CA
Contract Account

 

CAB
Change advisory board consists of managers and senior managers of SARS’ IT and Business System divisions.

Cabbotage permit
Grants permission to means of transport registered in another country to operate in South Africa (domestic transport).

 

Calendar Day
All days in a month, including weekends and holidays. Each month contains thirty-to thirty-one Calendar days, unless it’s the month of February which only has 21 Calendar days unless it’s a leap year.
Calves
Immature bull or cow still feeding off its mother

 

CAPE
Customs Authorised Processing of Entries

 

Capital flow
A flow of investments in and out of the country.

 

Capital Gains Tax (CGT)
Tax levied on the profits realised from the disposal of capital assets or investments by a taxpayer. A capital gain is the excess of the proceeds over the base cost.

 

Cargo Declaration
Information submitted prior to or on arrival or departure of a means of transport for commercial use that provides the particulars required by the Customs relating to cargo brought to or removed from the Customs territory. Notes: 1. The nature and contents of Cargo declarations may vary from country to country according to the commercial means of transport used. The particulars of the cargo (freight) may include kind, number, marks and numbers of packages, brief description of the goods, gross weight, etc. In some countries, these particulars may be submitted by electronic means. 2. Cargo declarations are often referred to as “manifests”; in some countries Aircraft cargo manifests, Ship’s manifests or Goods manifests are accepted in place of the Cargo declarations. Cargo declarations are also sometimes referred to as freight declarations. 3. The Annex to the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic, London, 1965, provides for a Cargo declaration (Model Form IMO FAL Form 2). With regard to air transport, the corresponding declaration is called Cargo manifest (Model Form as on International Civil Aviation, Chicago, 1944). 4. Goods declarations may subsequently be presented in respect of the individual consignments covered by the Cargo declarations. 5. Cargo declaration is defined in Specific Annex A, Chapters 1 and 2 of the revised Kyoto Convention.

 

Cargo Manifest
A listing of the goods comprising the cargo (freight) carried in a means of transport or in a transport-unit. The Cargo manifest which gives the commercial particulars of the goods, such as transport document numbers, consignors, consignees, marks and numbers, number and kind of packages, descriptions and quantities of the goods, may be used in place of the Cargo declaration. Note: Examples of Cargo manifests are Aircraft cargo manifests, Ship’s manifests, Goods manifests and “bordereaux” (road traffic).

 

Carrier
The person actually transporting goods or in charge of or responsible for the operation of the means of transport(*). (*) Annex A.1. to the Kyoto Convention of 1974 and Specific Annex A, Chapter 1 and Specific Annex J, Chapter 4 of the revised Kyoto Convention.

 

Cash equivalent
For taxable benefit purposes, a cash equivalent shall be the value of the taxable benefit less any consideration (if applicable) given by the employee.

 

Cashier
Cashier at branch office level (including back-up cashier which is a team member).

 

CBCU
Customs Border Control Unit
 
 
CBD
Central Business District (usually the business hub of a city, or the inner city).

 

CBM
Collaborative Border Management

 

CBRTA
Cross-Border Road Transport Agency

 

CC
Close Corporation
 
 
CC/CK
Close Corporation/identification of registrar of company number.

 

CCA
Customs Controlled Area

 

CCAE
Customs Controlled Area Enterprise

 

CCM
Cost Centre Manager

 

CCMA
Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.

 

Certificate of origin – the form or the document
A specific form identifying the goods, in which the authority or body empowered to issue it, certifies expressly that the goods to which the certificate relates originate in a specific country. This certificate may also include a declaration by the manufacturer, producer, supplier, exporter or other competent person. Notes: 1. In this definition the word “country” may include a group of countries, a region or a part of a country. 2. Specific forms for certificates of origin have been laid down in Annex D.2. to the Kyoto Convention of 1974 and Specific Annex K, Chapters 2 and 3 of the revised Kyoto Convention and in the framework of preferential arrangements such as the Generalized System of Preferences.

 

Certificate type
Type of certificates for which tax is to be levied. Types of certificates include: IRP5; IT3(a); ITREG (to be used when registering an employee for income tax). Note: Additional certificate types may be added at a later stage.

 

Certified declaration of origin
A declaration of origin certified by an authority or body empowered to do so (*).

 

CGT
Capital Gains Tax, namely, the normal tax attributable to the inclusion of a taxable capital gain in taxable income under s 26A of the Income Tax Act.

 

CH
Cash Halls

 

Change assignee
A person whom a change has been assigned to in their respective group. A change assignee is responsible for building the change record; assigning the change implementer and ensuring that the change is carried out according to the documented plans within the change record.

 

Change implementer
A person whom a change has been assigned to for implementation. He/she must implement the change according to the agreed documented plans within the change record.

 

Change management team
The change management team reside in the IT service management departments within the service support division.

 

Change owner
The resource that logs the production change/s and drives the release through the release process.

 

Change requestor
A user permitted to open, query and submitting a change that he/she needs implemented.

 

Chinchillas
A type of rodent farmed as a pet, but especially for its fur

 

CI
Configuration item

 

CIPC
Companies and Intellectual Property Commission

 

CIPRO
Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office

 

CIRC
Change Initiation Review Committee

 

CIT
Corporate Income Tax

 

CITES
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

 

Clarification case
When a payment that has been received from a client cannot be allocated to the client’s account due to a number of reasons. A clarification case is created in SAP to ensure that all unallocated transactions due to unknown or incorrect client details are followed up in the prescribed manner and posted correctly to a valid client’s account on a timely basis.

 

Clearance (of goods)
The accomplishment of Customs formalities necessary to allow goods to enter home use, be exported or to be replaced under another Customs procedure. The term “Due Entry” in relation to imported goods may be for many purposes, e.g. transit removal, warehousing or home consumption which includes entry under rebate and the declaration sight. The latter being for liability purposes – Section 44(9). Goods duly entered in most instances would be the first declaration made to Customs advising of the intended action to be taken for imported goods. (the purpose). A clear distinction must however be made between goods “cleared for home consumption” and goods “duly entered,” for the purposes of establishing the rate of duty applicable. Goods duly entered for warehousing or for transit (in bond) are liable to the rate of duty applicable at the time of entry for home consumption. (Section 45).

 

Clearance for home use
The Customs procedure which provides that imported goods enter into free circulation in the Customs territory upon the payment of any import duties and taxes chargeable and the accomplishment of all the necessary Customs formalities.

 

Client
Any person or enterprise conducting business with SARS.

 

CM
Change Management

 

CMDB
Configuration Management Database

 

CMO
Current Mode Operations

 

CMP
Customs Modernisation Programme

 

CMS
Customs Management System

 

CMT
Case Management & Tracking

 

CNC
Continuous Non-Compliance

 

CO
Company

 

Collection Information Statement (CIS)
Document utilised to review taxpayers’ financial status.

 

Colt
Young male horse

 

Commercial fraud
Any offence against statutory or regulatory provisions which Customs is responsible for enforcing, committed in order to: – evade, or attempt to evade, payment of duties/levies/taxes on movements of commercial goods; and/or- evade, or attempt to evade, any prohibition or restrictions applicable to commercial goods; and/or – receive, or attempt to receive, any repayments, subsidies or other disbursements to which there is no proper entitlement; and/or – obtain, or attempt to obtain, illicit commercial advantage injurious to the principle and practice of legitimate business competition.

 

Commissioner
The Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service (SARS).

 

Common customs area
The combined area of the Member States of the South African Customs Union (SACU).

 

Company
Company means any corporation, or company incorporated, established or formed by or under any law.

 

Compensating products
Products obtained within the country or abroad, during or as a result of the manufacturing, processing or repair of goods temporarily admitted for inward processing (temporary Importation), or of goods temporarily exported for outward processing. (Temporary Exportation / Setting-off with equivalent goods).

 

Competent Authority
Division in SARS tasked with interacting with any foreign tax administration.

 

Compound Duties
A combination of both a specific rate of duty and an ad valorem rate of duty. Whereas specific duties are based on factors such as weight or quantity, ad valorem duties are based on the value of the goods.

 

Compromise settlement
An agreement under which the Customs, being so empowered, consent to waive proceedings in respect of a Customs offence subject to compliance with certain conditions by the person(s) implicated in that offence.

 

Compulsory sequestration
Where a creditor or creditors (or his or their agent) may apply to court for the sequestration of the debtor’s estate.

 

Computed method
Where the value is derived from the built- up cost of the imported goods.

 

Computer
Processing. (Temporary Exportation / Setting-off with equivalent goods), which performs logical, arithmetic and memory functions by manipulation of electronic, magnetic or optical impulses and includes all input, output, processing, storage computer software or communication facilities which are connected or related to the computer in a computer or a computer network.

 

Computer Network
The interconnection of one (1) or more computers through the use of satellite, microwave, terrestrial line or other communication media and terminals or a complex consisting of two (2) or more interconnected computers whether or not the interconnection is continuously maintained. The exchange of information between various computers is known as EDI – Electronic Data Interchange.

 

Conditional fields
Fields that must be completed subject to defined conditions, e.g. mandatory if related fields have been completed.

 

Conditional grants
Allocations of money from one sphere of government to another, conditional on certain services being delivered or on compliance with specified requirements.

 

CON-NAVR
Consolidated enquiry screen for VAT and PAYE.

 

Connected person or relative
A connected person or relative means your spouse or anybody related to you or your spouse by blood in the third degree (e.g. great great grandfather etc.), and any spouse of these persons.

 

Consideration (Income Tax)
For taxable benefit purposes means any consideration given by an employee but does not include any consideration in the form of services rendered by the employee.

 

Consideration
In relation to a supply of goods or services, includes any payment made, whether in money or otherwise, but does not include a donation, a deposit (except a deposit on a returnable container) or any grant. Where, however, a supply is for no consideration the value of that supply is nil, except where the supply is between connected persons.

 

Consideration (Transfer Duty)
This is the total amount of money (including VAT) received for a sale. For barter transactions where the consideration is not in money, the consideration will be the open market value of goods or services (including VAT) received for making the taxable supply. Section 10 determines the value of supply or consideration for VAT purposes for different types of supplies.

 

Consolidated government expenditure
Total expenditure by national and provincial government, social security funds and selected public entities, including transfers and subsidies to municipalities, businesses or other entities.

 

Consultant
An individual with appropriate experience and recognised level of expertise in a specific field of activity, with ability to perform a particular service and give comprehensive and independent advice without influence from external interests. A consultant can be appointed through a private consulting firm or in his/her personal capacity.

 

Consumer price inflation (CPI)
The main measure of inflation, charting the price movements of a basket of consumer goods and services.

 

Consumption expenditure
Expenditure on goods and services, including salaries, which are used up within a short period of time – usually a year.

 

Container (transport)
With respect to transport equipment: a) having an internal volume of not less than one (1) cubic meter; and b) designed for the transport of goods by any means of carriage, without intermediate reloading.

 

Container (Income Tax Return)
With respect to an income tax return, refers to the various portions of the return that are created systematically in line with a taxpayer’s specific tax return requirements (e.g. IRP5 container, other income container, travel deduction container, capital receipts container, etc.).

 

Container convention
The expression commonly used to refer to the Customs Convention on Containers, concluded in Geneva in 1972 under the auspices of the United Nations and administered by the Customs Co-operation Council.

 

Container Depots
Container depots, usually outside the harbour area, are approved for the purposes of creating additional container capacity as well as for the purposes of unpacking cargo for individual delivery or packaging of goods for export. The Depot Operator must meet the standards and conditions required by Customs and this includes the lodging of security in the prescribed form prior to a license being issued.

 

Container Terminals
Container terminals can store containers with uncleared goods that are approved by Customs subject to certain specified conditions. No security is required if the terminals are within the harbour (control area) and if Customs are satisfied with the control measures.

 

Contingency reserve
An amount set aside, but not allocated in advance, to accommodate changes to the economic environment and to meet unforeseen spending requirements.

 

Contract
An agreement between parties, including a formal written contract, a properly authorised purchase order (with attached terms and conditions relating to that purchase) and any other agreement in writing between SARS and a supplier of goods and/or services.

Contribution to/from a trust
A contribution to a trust is any transfer of an asset, whether current or non-current, during the year of assessment excluding the following items:
  • Loan
  • Donation
  • Distribution from another trust or foundation.
 
Controller
In relation to any area or any matter, means the officer designated by the Commissioner to be the Controller of Customs and Excise in respect of that area or matter and includes an officer acting under the control or direction of any officer so designated by the Commissioner.

 

Controller/ Branch manager
In relation to any area or any matter, means the officer designated by the Commissioner to be the Controller of Customs and Excise in respect of that area or matter and includes an officer acting under the control or direction of any officer so designated by the Commissioner. In certain instances the Controllers are referred to as “Branch Managers”.

 

Controlling body
A body established, whether voluntary or under a law, with power to take disciplinary action against a person who, in carrying on a profession, contravenes the applicable rules or code of conduct for the profession.

 

Conveyancer
An attorney who has specialised in the preparation of deeds and documents which by law or custom are registerable in a Deeds Office and who is permitted to do so after practical examination and admission by the Supreme Court of South Africa.

 

COO
Chief Operating Officer

 

Copy tax invoice
A copy tax invoice is issued by a supplying vendor where the original tax invoice is lost, and the words ‘copy tax invoice’ appears on the document.

 

Core system
Core Tax Systems including ITS, Sessions and Service Manager.

 

Corporate Income Tax (CIT)
The income tax paid by a company.

 

Corporate tax rate
The rate (%) at which companies pay income tax.

 

Corresponding issuing association
An issuing association established in another Contracting Party and affiliated to the same guaranteeing chain. Note: This term is defined in Annex A to the Istanbul Convention.

 

Cost centre
An accounting term that refers to a unit or organization for which costs are accumulated or computed. In the State this may take several forms: (1) a significant activity within a department for which administrative control is desirable and/or necessary, (2) a designated area within a department with costs that have significance in terms of financing and budgeting of the department, (3) an area or activity under a single supervisor with costs that can be controlled by direct budgeting to such supervisor.

 

Countercyclical fiscal policy
Policy that has the opposite effect on economic activity to that caused by the business cycle, such as slowing spending growth in a boom period and accelerating spending in a recession.

 

Country of origin of goods
Country in which the goods have been produced or manufactured, according to the criteria laid down for the purposes of application of the Customs tariff, of quantitative restrictions or of any other measure related to trade (*). Note: In this definition the word “country” may include a group of countries, a region or a part of a country. (*) Annex. D.1. to the Kyoto Convention of 1974 and Specific Annex K, Chapter 1 of the revised Kyoto Convention.

 

Cow
Female cattle

 

CPC
Customs Procedure Code

 

CPD Cabinet
An international Customs document which incorporates an internationally valid guarantee and may be used, in lieu of national Customs documents and as security for import duties and taxes, to cover the temporary admission of means of transport and, where appropriate, the transit of means of transport. It may be accepted for controlling the temporary exportation and re-importation of means of transport but, in this case, the international guarantee does not apply. Note: The CPD (Carnet de Passage en Douane) carnet is issued under the terms of the Istanbul Convention, the Customs Convention on the temporary importation of private road vehicles, the Customs Convention on the temporary importation of commercial road vehicles and the Customs Convention on the temporary importation for private use of aircraft and pleasure boats.

 

CPO
Chief Procurement Officer

 

CR
Credit journal

 

CRA
Canada Revenue Agency, the Revenue Authority of Canada.

 

CRA01
Confirmation of Entity Residential/Business Address.

 

CRE
Customs Risk Engine

 

Credit Note
A note from a seller to a buyer which states how much will be credited to the buyers account by the seller.

 

Credit push transaction
A credit push transaction is a payment transaction that is captured on external sources (eFiling) and the requested payment instruction is deducted from the specified bank account.

 

Crew
Includes every person (except the master or pilot) employed in any capacity on board any ship or aircraft.

 

Crew’s effect
Items in everyday use and any other articles belonging to the crew, carried on board a means of transport, and which may be required to be declared to Customs.

 

Criminal Investigation
Criminal investigation can be defined as the discovery of relevant facts, the making of inferences from these facts, the reconstruction of the crime scene, the identification and apprehension of the offender, and the preparation of the case for prosecution and trial of the suspect (s) (Van der Westhuizen. J. 1996:354).

 

CRM
Customer relationship management

 

CSBD
Centre for Small Business Development

 

CSI
Corporate social investment

 

CSR
Corporate Social Responsibility

 

CSV file
Refers to a Comma Separated Value file which is a text file which has a certain format that allows for the saving of text or data in a more readable and organised manner (e.g. employee and remuneration data for IRP5 certificate purposes).

 

CTH
Community Tax Helpers

 

CTS
Core Tax Systems

 

CU
Control Unit

 

Customer number
The unique identification number with your diesel/bio diesel supplier, being your account number.

 

Customs
The Government Service which is responsible for the administration of Customs law and the collection of duties and taxes and which also has the responsibility for the application of other laws and regulations relating to the importation, exportation, movement or storage of goods(*). Notes: 1. This term is also used when referring to any part of the Customs Service or its main or subsidiary offices. 2. This term is also used adjectivally in connection with officials of the Customs, duties and taxes or control on goods, or any other matter within the purview of the Customs (Customs officer, Customs duties, Customs office, Customs declaration). (*) General Annex, Chapter 2 of the revised Kyoto Convention.

 

Customs approved route
Any road, railway, waterway, airway and any other route (pipeline, etc.), which must be used for the importation, Customs transit and exportation of goods.

 

Customs clearing agent
A person who carries on the business of arranging for the Customs clearance of goods and who deals directly with the Customs for and on behalf of another person (*). Notes: 1. Examples of Customs clearing agents are Customs agents, Customs brokers and freight forwarders 2. Some countries require that Customs clearing agents or Customs brokers be approved or licensed by the Customs. 3. See also the term “Third party” (*) Annex G.2. to the Kyoto Convention of 1974.

 

Customs control
Measures applied by the Customs to ensure compliance with Customs law(*). Note: The measures may be general, e.g., in relation to all goods entering the Customs territory, or may be specifically related to, e.g.: (a) the location of the goods; (b) the nature of the goods (liable to a high rate of duty, etc.); (c) the Customs procedure applied to the goods (Customs transit, etc.). (*) General Annex, Chapters 2 and 6 of the revised Kyoto Convention.

 

Customs declaration
Any statement or action, in any form prescribed or accepted by the Customs, giving information or particulars required by the Customs.

 

Customs duties
Subject to the provisions of sub-section (3), any duty leviable under Schedule 1 (except parts 3, 4 and 5 thereof) or Schedule 2, on goods imported into South Africa.

 

Customs formalities
All the operations which must be carried out by the person concerned and by Customs in order to comply with the statutory or regulatory provisions which Customs are responsible for enforcing in connection with the control of persons at Customs places of entry and exit and the clearance of baggage, goods and means of transport at importation, exportation and / or in transit, (removal in bond) at such places.

 

Customs fraud
Any act by which a person deceives or attempts to deceive Customs and thus evades or attempts to evade, wholly or partly, the payment of import or export duties and taxes or the application of prohibitions or restrictions laid down by the statutory or regulatory provisions enforced or administered by Customs administrations or obtains or attempts to obtain, advantage contrary to such provisions, thereby committing a Customs offence.

 

Customs frontier
The boundary of a Customs territory.

 

Customs Law
The statutory and regulatory provisions concerning the importation and exportation of goods, the administration and enforcement of which are specifically charged to Customs and any Regulations or Rules made by Customs under their statutory powers.

 

Customs maritime zone
The sea area under the control of the Customs in accordance with their domestic legislation. In this regard refer also to definition “surveillance zone or under the control of Customs” which must be read with Section 10 of the Customs and Excise Act.

 

Customs offence
Any breach, or attempted breach, of Customs law (*).

 

Customs office
The Customs administrative unit competent for the performance of Customs formalities, and the premises or other areas approved for that purpose by the competent authorities (*).

 

Customs office of departure
Any Customs office at which a Customs transit operation commences (*).

 

Customs office of destination
Any Customs office at which a Customs transit operation is terminated (*).

 

Customs or economic union
A Union constituted by and composed of Members of the CCC (WCO), of the United Nations or its specialized agencies, which has competence to adopt its own legislation that its binding on its Members, in respect of matters governed by the Convention to which it wishes to accede, and has competence to decide, in accordance with its internal procedures, to sign, ratify or accede to that international instrument.

 

Customs procedure
Treatment applied by Customs to goods which are subject to Customs control: a) Clearance for home use; b) Customs Warehousing; c) Temporary admission for inward processing or temporary admission subject to re-exportation in the same state; and d) Customs Transit, etc.

 

Customs seal
An assembly consisting of a seal and a fastening which are joined together in a secure manner. Customs seals are affixed in connection with certain Customs procedures (Customs transit, in particular) generally to prevent or to draw attention to any unauthorized interference with the sealed items. Customs seals are generally affixed to packages, containers, load compartments of means of transport, etc. They may also be used as means of identification of the goods themselves. Customs seals can also be seals affixed by the transporter, importer or exporter provided this is done in the presence of a Customs Officer or by a competent authority handling goods prior to due entry or entry for home consumption.

 

Customs tariff
Schedule No: 1 Part 1 in relation to imported goods.

 

Customs territory
The territory in which Customs laws of a specific state / country applies in full. As a rule, the Customs territory of a State / Country corresponds to its national territory including land, sea and air space. However, certain portions of the national territory may be excluded, e.g., free zones or the waters between the coastline and the State’s territorial boundary at sea. The excluded portions of the national territory are called “Customs Exclaves”. By international agreement Customs territory of a State may include a Customs Exclave of another State. The area so included is called a “Customs Enclave”.

 

Customs transit
Customs procedures under which goods are transported under Customs control from one Customs office to another. Notes: 1. The Customs normally allow goods to be transported under Customs transit in their territory: (a) from an office of entry into the Customs territory to an office of exit from the Customs territory (through transit); (b) from an office of entry into the Customs territory to an inland Customs office (inward transit); (c) from an inland Customs office to an office of exit from the Customs territory (outward transit); (d) from one inland Customs office to another inland Customs office (interior transit). Customs transit movements as described in (a) – (c) above are termed “international Customs transit” when they take place as part of a single Customs transit operation during which one or more frontiers are crossed in accordance with a bilateral or multilateral agreement.

 

Customs transit operation
Transport of goods from an office of departure to an office of destination under Customs transit (*). (*) Annex E.1. to the Kyoto Convention of 1974 and Specific Annex E, Chapter 1 of the revised Kyoto Convention.

 

Customs union
Entity forming a Customs territory replacing two or more territories and having in its ultimate state the following characteristics : – a common Customs tariff and a common or harmonized Customs legislation for the application of that tariff; – the absence of any Customs duties and charges having equivalent effect in trade between the countries forming the Customs Union in products originating entirely in those countries or in products of other countries in respect of which import formalities have been complied with and Customs duties and charges having equivalent effect have been levied or guaranteed and if they have not benefited from a total or partial drawback of such duties and charges. – the elimination of restrictive regulations of commerce within the Customs Union.

 

Customs union agreement
The agreement concluded between the governments of South Africa, the Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Kingdom of Swaziland and the Republic of Namibia to form a “Common Customs Area.”

 

Customs warehousing procedure
Customs procedure under which imported goods are stored under Customs control in a designated place (a Customs warehouse) without payment of import duties and taxes. Notes: 1. Customs warehouses may be for general use (public Customs warehouses) or for the use of specified persons only (private Customs warehouses). 2. The Customs warehousing procedure is dealt with in Annex E 3. to the Kyoto Convention of 1974 and Specific Annex D, Chapter 1 of the revised Kyoto Convention.

 

Cycle end date
The day that the dividend declared by a company, accrued to the shareholders for STC purposes.

 

Cycle start date
The day immediately after the date that the previous dividend cycle of a company ended.