SARS has announced amendments to the rules governing accredited customs clients under sections 64E and 120 of the Customs and Excise Act. The notice was published on 7 October 2026, with the amendments stated to take retrospective effect from 1 September 2025. SARS said the detailed publication information will follow in the Government Gazette.
The development is relevant to businesses that import or export goods and participate in the SARS accreditation framework. While the announcement does not yet set out the detailed wording of the changes, it is a prompt for finance, procurement and customs teams to confirm that their supporting records and internal controls remain aligned with their accredited-client obligations.
What SARS has confirmed
SARS has identified the amendment as relating to rules under sections 64E and 120 of the Customs and Excise Act, specifically the accreditation of clients through form DAR281. The stated effective date is 1 September 2025, although the publication details and full text of the amendment were not available in the announcement reviewed on 8 October 2026.
Businesses should therefore avoid assuming that the announcement changes a particular process until the final legal text is available. The immediate requirement is monitoring and preparation rather than treating unconfirmed detail as settled law.
More broadly, SARS guidance describes accreditation as a framework requiring customs clients to meet specified compliance, knowledge and control requirements. Accredited clients may include traders and other participants in the customs supply chain, depending on the relevant accreditation arrangements. SARS guidance on the competency assessment states that nominated employees must demonstrate sufficient knowledge of customs law and procedures.
Who may be affected?
The announcement is most relevant to companies with accredited-client status, businesses applying for accreditation, and finance or logistics teams responsible for customs declarations and import documentation. It may also affect customs consultants, nominated employees and staff who maintain records supporting customs values, supplier transactions and related payments.
For SMEs, the accounting consequence is practical: customs documentation supports the recording of inventory, landed costs, import VAT, supplier balances and cash payments. Weak or incomplete documentation can make it harder to reconcile customs entries to the accounting system and investigate later queries.
What businesses should check now
- Confirm whether the business currently holds or is applying for accredited-client status.
- Identify the person responsible for monitoring SARS customs notices and Government Gazette publications.
- Check that customs entries, supplier invoices, payment approvals and proof of payment can be matched and retrieved.
- Review whether nominated employees and customs administrators still understand the business’s documented procedures.
- Separate confirmed requirements from assumptions until SARS publishes the full amendment.
Practical next steps
Importers should obtain the final notice when it becomes available and compare it with their accreditation agreements, customs procedures and record-retention controls. Any retrospective effect should be reviewed with the business’s customs adviser or tax practitioner before making changes to historical declarations or accounting records.
Businesses can also use this period to strengthen the link between customs compliance and bookkeeping. A monthly reconciliation between customs entries, supplier invoices, import VAT, inventory records and bank payments can help identify missing documents before they become a compliance problem. YFP’s accounting, tax and business advisory services can assist businesses with reviewing these finance controls.
