Govermate logoGovermate
Back to opportunities
DocumentNot applicable2 of 2 opportunities in this document openOther

Customs & Excise Guide to Relationship Management

Tax Court of South Africa

Official source

Source domain: sars.gov.za

Collected on 27 June 2026

Always confirm details on the official source before acting.

What this means

The document presents the Customs & Excise Guide to Relationship Management (RM) for the South African Revenue Service, detailing how traders and SARS officers use RM within the RLA to create, validate, and manage trading relationships. It describes steps to disclose a new relationship via the eFiling-based RLA interface, including client type selection, nominee validation of the Custom(s)s client number, and the non-editable nature of information until the nominated party confirms or rejects. It also explains security considerations and the workflow for adding relationship details through the RM system.

What this document offers

Read out of this document by Govermate's AI, in its own words. Each one quotes the line it came from — confirm on the official source before acting.

online relationship creation serviceOngoing

Create a new trading relationship via RM in RLA

Traders and SARS branch officers with appropriate roles can use the Relationship Management system within RLA to create new trading relationships. This involves selecting a client type, entering and validating a nominee’s Customs client number, and confirming the relationship details through a multi-step process.

Who it is for
traders registered in RLA and SARS branch officers with appropriate roles
How to act on it
Log in to eFiling, navigate to Dashboard > Relationship > Notice of Disclosure, select client type, enter and validate nominee's Customs client number, then proceed to add client type details
Show the line this came from
The purpose of Relationship Management (RM) functionality is to provide the trader with a secure online solution to manage their trading relationships, allowing SARS to facilitate relationship management efficiently and effectively amongst traders without direct involvement in the management thereof.
client type assignment processOngoing

Add client type details for a nominee

After validating the nominee’s client number, users can add the nominee’s client type details, ensuring they match the required category such as registered importer, exporter, agent, or carrier (non-local). The system validates these selections.

Who it is for
traders creating a new relationship in RLA
How to act on it
On the Other Party Client Type Selection page, click Add Client Type and select the appropriate client type for the nominee
Show the line this came from
The system displays the Other Party Client Type page and the user (nominator) selects the RLA client type details of the nominee: If the nominator is a: The nominee must be a: Registered Importer (non-local) who does not have a business address in South Africa Registered Agent registered to represent Importers (non-local)

Key Takeaways

  • organization: South African Revenue Service (SARS)
  • system: Relationship Management (RM) within RLA
  • procedure: disclosure of a new relationship via eFiling and RLA
  • validation: nominee's RLA Customs client number must be validated
  • status: information not saved until confirmed or rejected by nominated RLA client
  • security note: exchange of Customs client numbers must be contractually managed between parties
  • roles: traders (from RLA after eFiling) or SARS branch officers with appropriate roles
  • path: Dashboard -> Notice of Disclosure -> My Client Type Selection -> Validate -> Next -> Add Client Type