Drafter: Legislation

Job Title: Drafter: Legislation

Position Reports to: Manager: Tariff Amendments

Division: Strategy Enab & Modernisation

Location: Head Office (Pretoria)

Advert Closing Date: 20 November 2026

About the Position

SARS is looking for a skilled customs official with unquestionable integrity to ensure the Schedule to the Customs and Excise Act, 91 of 1964 (the Act) published on the SARS website is accurate. The ideal candidate will ensure that the tariff subheadings and descriptions used in the publication are in line with the Harmonized System Nomenclature and South African Tariff structure. The Drafter: Legislation will ensure thatdraft notices are accurately drafted to amend the schedules to the Customs and Excise Act.

The role demands strong technical knowledge of Customs and Excise with excellent communication skills. The candidate must be able to do inter alia legal research, analyse data and draft submission on reports. The candidate must be able to work well within a team or individually.

Job Purpose

To accurately draft notices to amend the schedules to the Customs and Excise Act.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

Relevant Higher Certificate (NQF 5) AND 3 years’ experience in Customs or excise, Tariff, or Legislative drafting or implementation of trade agreements.

OR

Alternative Qualifications and Minimum Experience

Senior Certificate (NQF 4) AND 4 years’ experience in customs or excise, Tariff or Legislative drafting or implementation of trade agreements

Minimum Functional Requirements

Able to formulate and draft notices in English and Afrikaans for publication in the Government Gazette to amend customs tariffs.

Additional Technical Competencies:

GOC Confidential -

(a) Sensitive information, the unlawful disclosure of which may be harmful to the security or national interest of the Republic or could prejudice the Republic in its international relations.

(b) Commercial information, the disclosure of which may cause financial loss to an entity or may prejudice an entity in its relations with its clients, competitors, contractors and suppliers. E.g. Taxpayer information.

Process

Job Outputs:

• Communication of transactional outputs and queries in area of work according to policies and quality requirements. (I)
• Contribute to the development and improvement of area specific standards, procedures and processes to ensure continued quality and service improvement. (I)
• Contribute to the successful implementation of change initiatives by providing support in area of work. (I)
• Deliver on contracted performance objectives and escalate unresolved delivery and quality issues to management and process owners. (I)
• Draw on own knowledge and experience to identify and develop solutions that leads to improved service delivery and quality. (I)
• Effectively plan and schedule own activities to continuously improve quality and service delivery in area of work. (I)
• Report on transactional and process activities within set guidelines to provide timely information for decision making. (I)
• Apply and utilise systems in a manner that contributes to efficient and effective service delivery and optimised quality.
• Identify and resolve queries and problems timeously, apply discretion in line with process guidelines provided and escalate unresolved problems.
• Formulate and draft notices in English and Afrikaans for publication in the Government Gazette to amend customs tariffs.
• Undertake information gathering and analysis of data within set guidelines to report information related to business.
• Builds and maintain networks and relationships with business partners to secure necessary resources to achieve objectives
• Translate policy intent into clear, legally sound and defensible legislative text and Schedules
• Provide updated Schedules for loading onto the website to ensure that all updates and publications are aligned with applicable legislation.

Governance

• Comply to set governance and compliance procedures and processes related to an area of work and continuously identify and escalate risks.

People

• Drive own performance to achieve work outputs in line with required response time, quality and service delivery standards. (I)
• Search for, integrate and share new knowledge attained through formal and informal learning opportunities in the execution of your job. (I).
• Maintain professional interaction and always ensure ethical dealings with stakeholders.

Finance

• Adhere to specified polices, standards and procedures to prevent wastage on resources and report violations. (I)

Client

• Contribute to a culture of service excellence, which builds positive relationships and provides opportunity for feedback and exceptional service. (I)
• Ensure client satisfaction by delivering a service that is consistent, seamless and error free. (I)
• Contribute to a culture which builds rewarding relationships that enables exceptional client service and ethical conduct

Behavioural competencies

Accountability (V)

Analytical Thinking.

Attention to Detail

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Conceptual Ability

Customer Service

Fairness and Transparency (V)

Honesty and Integrity (V)

Organisational Awareness

Problem solving capability (Fundamental)

Reading Comprehension (Fundamental)

Respect (V)

Teamwork

Trust (V)

Working With Others

Technical competencies

Business Knowledge

Customs Knowledge

Data Collection and Analysis

Efficiency improvement

Functional Policies and Procedures

Legal Writing Skills

Legislative and regulatory compliance

Reporting

Compliance Competency

GOC Confidential - Grade of Clearance: a) sensitive info (b) commercial info, the disclosure of which may cause financial loss to an entity or may prejudice an entity in its relations with its clients, competitors, contractors and suppliers.

Employment Equity

The Employment Equity policy of SARS will be considered as part of the recruitment and selection process and Persons with Disabilities are encouraged to apply. Successful candidates will be required to undertake an oath of secrecy, pre-employment screening, case study, pre-assessment, psychometric assessment and or vetting, and a declaration of private interest. The appointment is also subject to appropriate reference(s) and security clearance where applicable.

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SARS official reporting channels: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];SARS Hotline number (0800002870).