New SARS regulations cause confusion for South African motorists

New regulations from the South African Revenue Service (SARS) on foreign-registered vehicles have raised concerns amongst South Africa’s vehicle owners.

From 1 June 2026, all vehicles registered outside South Africa must be declared on SARS’ Traveller Management System before entering or exiting the country.

This, SARS said, is in line with global customs practices and forms part of its efforts to modernise the country’s ports of entry and strengthen compliance.

The new regulations extend to countries in the Southern African Customs Union, including Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and eSwatini, which previously did not require permits to enter.

Motorists are encouraged to pre-register their vehicles online or in person when crossing the border in order to receive a Temporary Import Permit (TIP).

These permits are valid for up to 6 months after they are issued, and can be used to make multiple cross-border trips within that six-month period without the need to reapply each time.

However, questions have now surfaced around what happens to foreign-registered vehicles which had already entered the country prior to 1 June.

This is because the new TIP system will only begin tracking registered vehicle movements from 1 June, and as such does not extend to historical entries.

Many people from South Africa and neighbouring countries travel across borders for work or school purposes every single day.

This includes foreign university students who leave their vehicles inside South Africa while they visit their home country by air.

In an official Q&A posted to their website, SARS said the implementation of the new regulations will follow a phased approach.

“The first phase, from 1 June 2026, focuses only on the daily cross-border movement of foreign-registered vehicles used by travellers entering or leaving the country,” SARS said.

“The management of foreign-registered vehicles already in South Africa before 1 June and used by persons who are not currently travelling will only take place in a later phase, and such vehicles are not affected by the current implementation.”

SARS said they will provide more information on this topic as future phases of the implementation are announced and rolled out.

SARS leaves motorists more uncertain

Representatives of SARS have given conflicting answers to motorists’ concerns across multiple interviews and media statements, further adding to the confusion.

In an interview with SABC News, SARS spokesperson Sipithi Sibeko was directly asked whether the regulations would extend to vehicles already within the country’s borders.

Sibeko said that it would extend to all foreign-registered vehicles in the country, but also implied that only foreigners could own vehicles registered outside the country.

“One assumes that all vehicles that are owned by South Africans are South African-registered,” Sibeko said. “You can’t have a situation where you are South African, yet you own a foreign-registered vehicle.”

South African citizens are allowed by law to import and own foreign-registered vehicles, although it is highly regulated by SARS and the International Trade Administration Commission.

It is typically only permitted for the importing of personal vehicles of South Africans returning from another country and immigrants with permanent residences.

Other vehicles that may be imported into the country include racing cars, vintage/classic cars, and inherited vehicles, all of which require permits and are subject to strict conditions.

According to a report from SAPeople, an unnamed senior manager at SARS warned that South Africans who own foreign-registered vehicles will need to present proof of how they got them.

They also reportedly stated that vehicles already inside South Africa that are not declared with SARS after 1 June would potentially be impounded.

SARS Head of Customs Beyers Theron, however, said motorists with vehicles already in the country did not need to be worried about this at the moment.

“If they legitimately imported their vehicle into the country, they would have paid customs duties and passed the customs declaration,” Theron said. “They would have been driving on South African number plates.”

“If they are temporarily importing their vehicle because they are a student or businessman, they don’t need to be concerned right now that we’re going to come and take their vehicle or that they have to go to the border.”