06 Mar 2025

Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS) conducts periodic interventions to address concerns particularly in the importation of goods, due to non-compliance, acting President also the Minister of Finance, Mr Ndaba Gaolathe said in Parliament recently.

Answering a question from Kanye East legislator Mr Mogorosi Mosanana, he said one area of significant non-compliance that came to light was the importation of used vehicles, especially from China and Singapore. He said several vehicles from these jurisdiction were impounded due to violations of customs regulations.

The infractions primarily involve undervaluation where the Acting President alluded that some importers deliberately declare values lower than the actual purchase price to evade the correct custom duty assessment.

False declarations, he said included misinterpretation of key details such as the vehicle’s origin, specifications and conditions leading to incorrect duty calculations. Other infractions, Mr Galaothe mentioned non-declaration where some importers fail to declare certain vehicles attempting to bypass lawful taxation.

He also said fraudulent practices where there were cases of intentional misinterpretation is suspected, adding that BURS had the authority to seize or detain vehicles under the provision of the customer’s Act.

Furthermore, Mr Gaolathe noted that the duration for which the vehicles were kept in custody can vary due to several factors such as legal processes unfold and prolonged ongoing investigations. He said, BURS in 2019 conducted a targeted operation, which identified grey imports as one of the most vulnerable sectors to non-compliance.

He highlighted that following the operation, some traders sought a court interdict, resulting in the initial penalties being set aside.

“They were only required to pay the shortfall in customs duties based on a re assessment using revised values. The majority of traders settled their outstanding amounts, and their vehicles were subsequently released,” he said.

He said following the operation in 2019 some importers had difficulties in paying the revised custom duties which resulted in delay of the release of vehicles, citing that currently five traders haven’t settled their duties resulting in 36 vehicles remaining under BURS custody since December 2019.

As for the prolonged exposure to harsh weather conditions, he said he was aware that these vehicles lost value. He said to mitigate this, efforts were made to expedite the disposal of seized cars where feasible and also impounded vehicles were stored in secured shelters in order to prevent further damage.

In addition, he noted that BURS typically auctioned seized vehicles with unresolved cases as part of standard disposal process.

Meanwhile, Mr Gaolathe said BURS remained committed to ensuring compliance with customs laws to safeguard national revenue.

Mr Mosanana asked the minister to state why some vehicles from China and Singapore had been impounded by BURS and how long the vehicles had been kept in BURS custody. He also wanted the minister to state if he was aware that the vehicles lose value by being exposed to the current harsh conditions and if there were any plans to dispose or return them to their owners. ENDS