Ordered a replacement audio component from supplier in England the twerps posted it via Insured Mail, despite my advices. I could track it via Royal Mail from dispatch in Leicester on 24th November to arrival in Jhb on 29th Nov. There it was "At Customs" until 18th January
The SAPO generated a new tracking number and it arrived at Cape Mail on 1st Feb
Along I went with the invoice which showed "Replacement under warranty, value ?0.00 and postage ?8.15". The customs clerk insisted it must have some value and I needed to prove to him what it is. So I came back and sourced the original invoice dated 2015 for the whole component, went back and told him this replacement component was about 1/50th of the total value of the item. In the end he waived the duty so I paid R 46,00 clearance fee
The parcel had been cut open and resealed with adhesive tape "SARS Opened for Customs". Alas, opening the parcel, there was only the polystyrene packaging and no component. Back to Cape Mail. They were at pains to tell me that parcels get examined in Jhb and the examiner puts a green sticker on the underneath of the parcel. No green sticker on this one
An email to SARS Post Office Customs followed, quoting the Manifest Number and both tracking numbers. I suggested that the item was removed and not replaced, since it has no monetary or salvage value
Reply received yesterday (so quick!) states: "We examine a large volume of parcels daily and are unable to comment on individual items". So I phoned them and after 30 mins wait, got to speak to an intelligent Afrikaans speaking person. He admitted that since they are so busy things do go astray but the examining hall is so large and has over 150 people working there, it is an impossible task to ascertain what occurred in this instance, especially since the green sticker is not present. He asked me if there was anything made of gold in the parcel, which gives a hint of what occurs there. I told him it was an electronic component about the size of 2 USB sticks
The SAPO generated a new tracking number and it arrived at Cape Mail on 1st Feb
Along I went with the invoice which showed "Replacement under warranty, value ?0.00 and postage ?8.15". The customs clerk insisted it must have some value and I needed to prove to him what it is. So I came back and sourced the original invoice dated 2015 for the whole component, went back and told him this replacement component was about 1/50th of the total value of the item. In the end he waived the duty so I paid R 46,00 clearance fee
The parcel had been cut open and resealed with adhesive tape "SARS Opened for Customs". Alas, opening the parcel, there was only the polystyrene packaging and no component. Back to Cape Mail. They were at pains to tell me that parcels get examined in Jhb and the examiner puts a green sticker on the underneath of the parcel. No green sticker on this one
An email to SARS Post Office Customs followed, quoting the Manifest Number and both tracking numbers. I suggested that the item was removed and not replaced, since it has no monetary or salvage value
Reply received yesterday (so quick!) states: "We examine a large volume of parcels daily and are unable to comment on individual items". So I phoned them and after 30 mins wait, got to speak to an intelligent Afrikaans speaking person. He admitted that since they are so busy things do go astray but the examining hall is so large and has over 150 people working there, it is an impossible task to ascertain what occurred in this instance, especially since the green sticker is not present. He asked me if there was anything made of gold in the parcel, which gives a hint of what occurs there. I told him it was an electronic component about the size of 2 USB sticks
