Defending The Vulnerable in Customs Law

by Vusi Ngcobo

On election day, 29 May 2024, I was contacted by a highly frustrated and irritated individual dealing with a customs issue. The person indicated that he was calling me from Eswatini. Although I was supposed to have been off on that day since it was a public holiday in South Africa, I decided to take the call and listen to what this gentleman wanted me to help him with. 

He told me that he was referred to me as someone who could definitely help him. Well, I started this business to be the voice of the voiceless. This gentleman needed my voice, which why I believed was the reason he had called. 

He then told me that he had travelled to South Africa the previous day to attend to his truck which had experienced a breakdown somewhere in Gauteng. While on his way to his truck, he was stopped by an Ekurhuleni Metro police officer who saw that the vehicle had Eswatini registration number plate. 

He was questioned about the ownership of the vehicle, which turned out to had been still registered on the previous owner, although this gentleman had bought the vehicle and he produced proof of purchase. 

For some or other reason, the Metro Cop felt it necessary to report the matter to Customs who in turn decided to detain the vehicle in terms of Section 88(1)(a) read with Section 87 and 102 of the Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964. 

Knowing that section 88 (1) detention is used to determine whether the goods were being irregularly dealt with and therefore liable to forfeiture. 

My first question to him was whether he had declared the vehicle as being imported into South Africa and was planning to register it in South Africa, to which he responded “no” to all my questions. This puzzled me because the question was, why was Customs detaining goods not being imported into the country? 

Immediately I felt that there was injustice and abuse of power taking place here. Someone was feeling very powerful and felt they could do as they pleased. 

Needless to say, I was at the SARS office in Edenvale where the matter was being handled, first thing in the morning. I was able to shine the light to officers resulting in the vehicle being released. 

The officers had a very flimsy excuse saying that they suspected the vehicle would be registered in South Africa. My question was, why did the Border Police and Customs at the border post not have the same suspicion? Were they saying that the state has posted people at the port of entry who were incompetent? And thus, allowed the more competent Metro cops to operate inland instead of deploying them to the border? 

After reading the riot act, I am glad to report that my client came to collect his vehicle at a cost which was very unnecessary. My client suffered immensely because he was unable to reach his truck and attend to his business. Secondly, he incurred other costs that were never part of his plans. Worse though is the feeling of being undermined, abused and mistreated simply because he was a “foreigner”. 

I bet you that these officials doing this are people who probably do not even have passports and have no experience of traveling outside SA’s borders. 

True to our values, we restored ubuntu where it was being stripped away. In true commitment of our name, we weeded out the injustice of our client being abused and restored their dignity. 

Please do not hesitate to call on us should you ever feel that there is abuse of the law in the Customs and Excise environment, we shall step in to help. Get in touch with us, we stand ready to help. 

Vusi Ngcobo.  

Director, Mageja Customs Consulting.