With just days left before the South African Traveller Management System (SATMS) comes into effect at King Shaka International Airport on November 29, the link to the online declaration has now gone live at https://www.sars.gov.za/travellerdeclaration/.

All travellers entering or leaving South Africa, including local citizens are encouraged by SARS to voluntarily submit the online declaration. There is no set date in place yet for when the system will become mandatory for all travellers, or when it will extend past King Shaka International Airport.

If travellers need assistance with completing the declaration, they can send an email to travellerescalations@sars.gov.za, or visit the service counters at the airport.

Customs officials will be available at the airport to assist travellers with handheld devices to submit their declarations.

As it is a legal requirement for all travellers to declare goods in their possession when entering or leaving South Africa, for years SARS has dabbled with different manual declaration forms that in many ways increased the work of officers, led to particular risks, and resulted in unsatisfactory traveller experiences when dealing with Customs.

The new system aims to create a seamless process at ports of entry so that Customs enforcement efforts can focus on non-compliance from those entering or exiting the country while dealing with traveller information in a safe, secure, and automated way.

When filling out the SATMS form, travellers will need to enter the details of their passport, travel, contact information, travel companion, goods and cash, and entity or business details if travelling on a business trip.

If a foreign tourist visiting South Africa completes the declaration right before boarding and does not receive the email confirming receipt of the declaration before departure, and they have an international cellphone number, customs officers can retrieve declarations on their arrival with the passport number the traveller used.

Travellers wanting to process VAT refund claims must pre-declare goods on the SATMS form as normal, and then visit the Customs counter at the airport for the verification process, including stamping of invoices. Thereafter, they must proceed to the VAT Refund Administrator Office to finalise the claim process.

Registering on eFiling beforehand is not necessary.