The South African Revenue Service (SARS) will not announce the winner of its R2 billion customs scanner tender until the end of the month, following delays in the process, says a spokesperson.
Three bidders were short-listed in December for the customs scanner tender to install 12 to 18 container scanners at the Durban harbour, as well as at other ports around the country.
"The [customs scanner] tender process has been delayed by five to 10 days, due to the commissioner being out of the country, and the recent departure of CIO Ken Jarvis," notes the spokesperson.
The announcement of the scanner tender winner was originally planned for late last month.
Others on track
The spokesperson notes that a second tender - a multimillion-rand project for the replacement of data and voice networks within SARS - is still on track to be announced at the end of the month.
A third large tender, for the modernisation of tax and customs business, products and systems, will take longer to be decided upon, he adds.
Safe harbour
The customs scanner initiative, implemented after the 11 September attacks, is in line with a global safety initiative that will enhance Durban's "safe" harbour status for exports to the US. The first scanner is expected to be installed during the third quarter of this year.
The technology will provide an integrated solution that includes a risk-profiling engine to identify which items should be scanned, said the then CIO Ken Jarvis some weeks ago.
Durban harbour presently operates only one scanner, which belongs to the National Ports Authority.
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