Motorists mobilise to challenge Sars over foreign-registered vehicles

Nearly 2,900 motorists have joined a proposed class action lawsuit against the South African Revenue Service (Sars) over a new rule requiring foreign-registered vehicles to declare their presence on the Traveller Management System (TMS). This mandate, introduced in June 2026, applies to all foreign-registered vehicles in South Africa, including those from Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) members: Botswana, eSwatini, Lesotho, and Namibia.

Owners can register these vehicles online or at the border, after which Sars issues a temporary import permit valid for six months. Thousands of second-hand foreign vehicles, primarily from Japan, are sold annually in neighboring countries after being imported from abroad, where they cannot be sold to protect South Africa's local vehicle manufacturing sector.

Locals from neighboring countries have complained for years about intimidation by Sars customs officials while driving foreign-registered vehicles on South African roads. Some cars have been seized and released only after fines were paid, while others have been destroyed near the SA-Lesotho border crossing, such as in Ficksburg, Free State.

A case involving a Lesotho-registered Nissan Serena owned by Joaquim Alves, worth R40,000, highlights the issue. Alves was arrested for theft of his own vehicle after being detained for a weekend, and the SCA dismissed Sars's appeal to dismiss the case. Alves and his legal team argue that Sars is exceeding its powers and misinterpreting the Customs and Excise Act by treating foreign-registered vehicles as imports at the border.

Many residents in border towns with Lesotho-registered number plates frequently cross the border and report harassment by customs officials upon return. Sars maintains that the new requirement is necessary to protect South Africa's domestic motor vehicle manufacturing industry and that South African residents cannot own or drive foreign-registered vehicles on South African roads.

No legislation permits this, according to Sars. MC Radebe Attorneys, organizing the class action, contends that the requirement constitutes an unlawful two-tier system for Sacu members, arguing that used vehicles are imported through the Durban container port and immediately shipped to Lesotho, where customs duties are paid. Sars responds by stating that motorists are complying with the new requirement and that South Africa's laws aim to protect and support its domestic motor vehicle manufacturing industry.