Aviation fuel supplies at Cape Town International Airport have been severely disrupted because the SA Revenue Service (Sars) is taking too long to complete audits of jet fuel stocks, the Fuels Industry Association of SA says.
The association said due to the detention of Jet A-1 fuel stocks under Sars verification, suppliers have been unable to uplift product from Burgan Cape Terminals in the Port of Cape Town, reducing available supply to the key airport and placing pressure on contingency arrangements.
“The association fully supports Sars’s mandate to uphold compliance,” said Avhapfani Tshifularo, CEO of the association. “However, the extended duration of this process has now created a real risk of fuel shortages that could disrupt flights, impact tourism and undermine the Western Cape economy during the peak travel season.
“The affected fuel import facility holds about 20 days of Jet A-1 stock, a critical buffer for national fuel security and air transport reliability. Though domestic production has been increased and alternative import plans are being explored, these measures cannot fully compensate for the current constraint.”
The importation and movement of aviation paraffin and illuminating paraffin are governed by the Customs and Excise Act, with the adherence to the provisions of the act having at times proven difficult for the fuel industry.
SA has lost about half of its refinery capacity over the past five years, constraining jet fuel availability at airports and causing shortages.
Most of SA’s paraffin imports come from the Middle East.
In August, Sars extended special licences for importing and storing jet fuel, offering relief to airports facing supply challenges.
The one-year extension allows industry players permission to operate special storage warehouse licences until October 31 2026.
Tshifularo said even a short-term disruption at the Cape Town International Airport could have far-reaching consequences, affecting airlines, airport operations and tourism.
“The aviation sector depends on predictable and continuous fuel supply. We therefore urge Sars and all relevant stakeholders to expedite the necessary verifications and authorise the release of detained Jet A-1 fuel without further delay,” Tshifularo said.
“This is a solvable problem. We call for urgent co-operation between Sars, industry and government to restore stability, safeguard SA’s international connectivity and protect jobs and growth in the Western Cape.”
Sars could not be reached for comment.
The tax authority has been clamping down on noncompliance in the fuel industry, taking on organised criminal networks that smuggle and illegally adulterate fuel, with countries along the Maputo Corridor (SA, Swaziland and Mozambique) having become primary targets of the illicit fuel trade.
The tax authority has established that some importers declare fuel amounting to 40,000 litres or less, whereas investigation reveals that up to 60,000 litres of fuel are actually imported.
Sars has also detected a national trend in which many of the fuel-storage and distribution depots are involved in the adulteration of all fuel products, especially through the illegal mixing of diesel with paraffin.
Fuel adulteration costs the fiscus about R3.6bn per year, according to statistics by the International Trade Administration Commission.
To this end, Sars in June pounced on the black market fuel industry in intelligence-led searches and seizures countrywide.
These operations, conducted through the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoints), have zoomed in on 23 operations across Gauteng, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.
A team of Sars officials and police officers detained nearly a million litres of “contaminated” diesel fuel, with analysis in some instances showing the seized diesel had up to 68% paraffin content.
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