Officials clash over customs tax collection
Home affairs and the Treasury butt heads over the controversial Border Management Bill
Two senior government officials had a brief and heated exchange on Tuesday over the controversial Border Management Bill and the proposed Border Management Agency. The bill and the proposed agency have been a source of tension between the Department of Home Affairs and the Treasury, with the bone of contention being the issue of revenue collection. The idea of a Border Management Agency has been on the table for six years. The home affairs portfolio committee met to discuss the Border Management Authority Bill and study its clauses. At the meeting, exchanges between home affairs director-general Mkuseli Apleni and Treasury deputy director-general Ismail Momoniat showed the rift between their two departments. Momoniat said revenue collection functions in migration should remain with the SA Revenue Service (Sars) as recommended by the Davis tax commission. Tax collection and tax administration could not be separated, he argued. "We are saying that the way forward is that the customs i...
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