It is just before 14:00 on the afternoon of February 20 as I wait for the National Budget Review 2019 to be published in its electronic form. While doing so, I am reminded of a time, not so long ago, when it was released in hard copy. At that time, the review being released in soft copy would be in the realm of science fiction. Acquiring information was hard work indeed.

To obtain a copy on National Budget Day, you needed to have ordered or reserved a full set of documents: the National Budget Speech, the National Budget Review and the Estimates of National Expenditure. You had to do that well in advance.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not the Budget Speech that should be studied in great detail – attention should be reserved for the National Budget Review. The Budget Speech is all about the showboating, the pomp and the ceremony. The substance is found elsewhere – in the National Budget Review – and as is this column’s focus, in the section headed ‘Customs and Excise’.

This year, there are ten proposals. How many did you see mentioned in the national press? These ten proposal are: the South African Revenue Service’s (Sars’) publication of the excise rewrite discussion document; reviewing the tax treatment of duty-free shops; excluding bulk wine movements from the compulsory tariff determination requirement; extending the fiscal marking, tracking and tracing intervention to include excise and levy goods; progress with the review of the diesel refund administration; sharing client-specific information with relevant departments for carbon tax purposes; ad valorem proposals to consistently apply and extend current items – expanding the computer category; ad valorem proposals to consistently apply and extend current items – expanding the gaming category; duty rebates and refunds in circumstances of vis major; and curbing smuggling and illicit financial flows.

If you read elsewhere, you will find an additional two customs and excise proposals: definition of fuel levy goods and environmental fiscal reform policy. If any of these relate to you, then you need to read them in detail.

With respect to Sars’ publication of the excise rewrite discussion document, do you want to venture a guess as to when the drafting of the customs and excise rewrite started? It started on December 12, 2004. With respect to the excise rewrite, Sars has compiled an excise rewrite discussion document that will be published for public comment as part of the redrafting of the excise duty legislative framework. The Sars paper outlines the internationally recognised requirements of an excise duty administration. The current duty-at-source system is reviewed to identify possible reforms. A selected country comparison outlines reform options and the conclusion reflects the proposals that Sars supports. After comments have been received, Sars intends to engage representative industry bodies and responsible government departments on the reform proposals that require refinement.

Government has noted concerns regarding duty-free shops operating in South Africa. As a consequence, the legislative framework governing duty-free shops will be reviewed to minimise any abuse and risks that may be occurring, with action to be taken if so required.

As for ad valorem duties that apply to televisions and monitors with screens larger than 45 cm, irrespective of their end use, ‘smart’ technology items are harder to distinguish and therefore difficult to categorise. In order to prevent these items from ‘escaping’ ad valorem duties, government has proposed that the computer category be expanded to include any apparatus with a screen larger than 45 cm.

With respect to ad valorem duties on gaming consoles, these are currently limited to consoles that use a television screen. However, games are now displayed on many different items. Thus, government has proposed that the provisions be amended to include any external screen or surface on which gaming console images can be reproduced.

A final one: the definition of fuel levy goods is to be amended to address the anomaly of certain fossil fuels that are used as transport fuel but are not subject to fuel taxation.