It is a fateful Saturday. It is September 16. If you cannot recall the day, I have three digits to remind: 57-0. Enough said – numbers are clinical when conveying a message.

A total of 4 661 days have passed since the South African Revenue Service (Sars) began to ‘rewrite’ South Africa’s customs legislation. Further, 1 164 days have passed since the 2014 Customs Duty Act was promulgated and it is now 1 151 days since the 2014 Customs Control Act was promulgated. The drafting of the Excise Duty Bill has not yet started.

And what is there for Sars to show? Well, practically as much as the Springboks rugby team managed to put on the scoreboard when they played the All Blacks on September 6 – zero, nought, niks, zilch, zip, nada, nothing!

As is customary when writing for the financial press, you need to declare your interest, which I duly do. I have been observing the redrafting of the 1964 Customs and Excise Act, which, on December 12, 2017, would be 13 years in the making. I am not, and have never been, a selected stakeholder in the process. However, I have been writing on the ‘rewriting’ of the Customs and Excise Act, which is not an appreciated endeavour. I have been writing weekly customs, excise and international trade columns since 1999. Still, the insight that I offer is very much that of an outsider.

Returning to the ‘rewrite’, you might argue that there has been progress, some progress. But at what cost? Let us also consider the assessment of progress. On July 10, 2014, the 2014 Customs Duty Act was promulgated – five months short of the tenth anniversary of the commencement of the redrafting. Thirteen days later, on July 23, 2014, the 2014 Customs Control Act was promulgated. So, are they in operation yet? The answer to this question comprises just two sequential letters of the alphabet – N and O!

Interestingly, even though these Acts are not yet in operation, they have been subjected to correction (amendment, if you prefer) in all the Revenue Laws Amendment Bills and subsequent Revenue Laws Amendment Acts. This, in itself, is telling.

There are companies that are urging the business community to prepare for the introduction of the Acts, offering their insights and even organising various training courses. I am not sure what type of training is being offered. Would I bother attending the training courses? Again, those two sequential letters of the alphabet suffice. After a nearly 13-year wait, you might well be inclined to wait a bit longer. A lot can still, and will, change.

If you want to get a bit nostalgic, you might want to consider that, since the founding of South Africa in 1910, there have been three redrafts of the Customs (and Excise) Act, resulting in the publication of the 1916 Customs Act and the 1964 Customs and Excise Act. What might not be obvious is that the 1916 Customs Act followed the constitutional change of May 31, 1910 – the establishment of the Union of South Africa – while the 1964 Customs and Excise Act followed the constitutional change of May 31, 1961, when South Africa became a republic. South Africa’s third constitutional change occurred on April 27, 1994. Quite obviously, it is taking considerably longer for the Customs and Excise Acts (the Excise Act has yet to be drafted) to be introduced, following the most recent constitutional change. This might likely be repudiated – the present day is far more complicated than the past. For such response, there is a technical term.

As to what the future holds for the introduction of the 2014 Customs Acts – well, that is anyone’s guess, I would imagine, with the possible exception of those who are stakeholders.

Interestingly, on September 5, 2016, Sars published its Strategic Plan 2016/17–2020/21. That was at about the same time that it published its Annual Performance Plan 2017/18. Although Sars recently published its Annual Performance Plan 2017/18, it is yet to publish its Strategic Plan 2017/18–2021/22. Just in case you think that I am off topic, the Strategic Plan 2016/17–2020/21 contained a section that detailed its xviii (18) ‘Increased Customs and Excise Compliance Commitments’ for its 2016/17 financial year. As to whether these commitments have been honoured – well, that is, at best, a matter of specu- lation, as there has been no word from Sars.

One of the commitments, number xv, was, in fact: “(xv) Continue the development of pro- cesses and systems to support the implementation of the Customs Control Act, 2014, and Customs Duty Act, 2014. We will develop and implement the processes and systems incrementally and with cooperation and participation from the business community. The Acts will be made effective once the processes and systems are stable to ensure the minimum impact on the flow of trade and the economy. By the end of March 2017, Sars will implement Phase 1 of the programme, which comprises Registration, Licensing and Accreditation.” This was, in fact, the message of the last two years, as I recall. So, did it happen? Those two sequential alphabetical letters again suffice.

A letter from Sars dated July 5 and titled ‘Update on new customs legislation’ reads: “We have now reconsidered our initial approach of introducing registration, licensing and accreditation first and will rather be focusing on reporting of conveyancing and goods, building on the platform created by the new Manifest Processing System, which was introduced last year.”

It adds: “In the meantime, work has continued on the drafting of the rules under the Customs Control Act and the Customs Duty Act.”

It is my understanding that the two Acts will not enter into force until their rules have been published and “the processes and systems are stable”. The letter continues: “Further, the process of aligning the customs tariff to the new legislation is progressing. It is to be noted that no excise rules will be drafted now, as the current rules relating to Excise under the 1964 Act will continue to apply.”

As you read this column, 4 467 days have elapsed. “Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Sounds the Clock!”, as the nursery rhyme goes.