Senior Customs and Excise Officer (Licensing Officer) at The South African Revenue Service (SARS)

Job Purpose

• To verify, evaluate, interpret, validate, integrate and interrogate all C&E Trader and Bond registration and licensing information or lack thereof, in order to facilitate, coordinate, process and/or implement C&E Trader and Bond registrations & licensing applications in accordance with all legislative requirements.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

• National Diploma / Advanced Certificate (NQF 6) in Business Administration, Public Administration or Business Management AND 3 years’ experience in a Customs & Excise environment

Minimum Functional Requirements

• The Senior Customs and Excise Officer (Licensing Officer) will have proficient knowledge of functional Customs and Excise Procedures and or Products in the field of Client management like Authorised Economic Operator, Registration, Licensing and Accreditation, Risk Management, Customs Compliance or Control and Declarations Processing, or Inspections, Investigation, Enforcement, Proficient Audit, and Excise

Job Outputs:

Process

• Accumulate information and provide reports with recommendations applicable to area of specialisation.
• Apply practical and applied knowledge and act authoritatively on methods, systems and procedures to identify trends and potential risks.
• Assess risk factors in deciding how to deal with any given situation to balance the business needs of clients with the need to fairly enforce legislation and policy.
• Communication of situational interpretation and judgement of work outputs and queries in area of specialisation.
• Conduct in-depth interrogation and/or research information to ensure accuracy, correctness, validity and compliance.
• Continuously assess, review and evaluate the potential trade, economic, environmental, fiscal and reputational impact thereof.
• Correctly apply policies, practices, standards, procedures and legislation in the delivery of work outputs.
• Effectively plan and schedule own activities to continuously improve quality and service delivery in area of specialisation.
• Execute process and procedural change, implement the change and provide guidelines and support related to new requirements as a result of the change.
• Perform proficient Customs and Excise Verification activities and functions in relation to Client Management, Risk Management, customs compliance and control, declaration processing, control, investigation, enforcement, audit, quality assurance, scanner image analysis, excise and specialised units (DDU, Marine Unit and Scanner).
• Provide specialist input through the investigation of opportunities for operational and process, product and risk optimisation.
• Recommend the likely tariff classification, valuation and origin of goods.
• Respond appropriately to a decision by affecting the adjustment accurately to ensure legislative and financial correctness.
• Respond appropriately to a decision by communicating with relevant stakeholders, through requesting, instructing or informing around such matters concerning validity or possible non-compliance.
• Use practical and applied knowledge and situational judgement to arrive at decisions.

Governance

• Comply to set governance and compliance procedures and processes related to an area of specialisation and continuously identify and escalate risks.
• Ensure that completed work adhere to relevant policies, procedures, governance and legislative requirements and report on deviations and discrepancies.

People

• Develop and maintain productive working relationships with peers and team members to achieve predefined objectives.

Finance

• Adhere to organisational policies and procedures to ensure cost effectiveness and reduction of financial costs.

Client

• Contribute to a culture of service excellence, which builds positive relationships and provides opportunity for feedback and exceptional service.
• Ensure own understanding and adherence to customer service delivery and provide specialist support to meet or exceed customer expectations.

Behavioural competencies

• Accountability
• Analytical Thinking
• Attention to Detail
• Commitment to Continuous Learning
• Conceptual Ability
• Customer Service
• Fairness and Transparency
• Honesty and Integrity 
• Organisational Awareness
• People Skills
• Respect
• Trust

Technical competencies

• Customs and Excise Business Knowledge
• Trade Facilitation
• Customs and Excise Risk analysis (Customs EU Framework)
• Customs and Excise  Investigations (Customs EU Framework)
• Customs and Excise Procedures (Customs EU Framework)
• Customs and Excise Supervision (Customs EU Framework)
• Data Collection and Analysis
• Decision Making and Problem Solving
• Efficiency Improvement
• Enforcement (Customs EU Framework)
• Functional Policies and Procedures
• Integrated Border Management (Customs EU Framework)
• Origins of goods (Customs EU Framework)
• Prohibitions and Restrictions (Customs EU Framework)
• Reporting
• Risk Identification
• Tarriff and Classification (Customs EU Framework)
• Valuation (Customs EU Framework)

Deadline:22nd July,2026