A client in the film production industry faced a critical obstacle: the vehicles they had temporarily imported into South Africa could not be registered for road use due to regulatory restrictions — despite their essential role in ongoing and future productions.

The restriction made transportation between film sites logistically complex and financially burdensome. Standard channels offered little recourse, and several appeals had already been denied.

A client in the film production industry faced a critical obstacle: the vehicles they had temporarily imported into South Africa could not be registered for road use due to regulatory restrictions — despite their essential role in ongoing and future productions.

The restriction made transportation between film sites logistically complex and financially burdensome. Standard channels offered little recourse, and several appeals had already been denied.

A private client entered South Africa by road with a vehicle intended for permanent import. However, the vehicle was waved through at the border without proper customs clearance, leaving it in a state of non-compliance — unbeknownst to the client at the time.

The original quote from our team covered a standard customs clearance process. However, once engaged, it became clear that the vehicle had not been formally processed on entry. This posed a significant compliance risk and raised the possibility that the vehicle would need to be returned to the border for corrective processing.

While assisting a client with the import of two vehicles, Titan Tides identified an opportunity to apply for a customs duty rebate under a lesser-known category — typically reserved for very specific types of vehicles.

Rather than take assumptions at face value, we submitted the applications with all the required compliance documents and allowed the process to unfold through the appropriate channels. The result was unexpected — but welcome.

Titan Tides was engaged to support multiple clients whose imported vehicles required registration and licensing through the Western Cape registering authorities. While we were not responsible for submitting the applications directly, we provided supporting documentation and liaised closely with our appointed Import Vehicle Registrations Agent to facilitate the process.

As delays began to impact multiple clients, we compiled and submitted a detailed spreadsheet of outstanding cases — including task numbers, client identifiers, and registering authorities — in an effort to escalate the matter and gain traction with the relevant department.

A private collector owned a classic vehicle that had been imported into South Africa decades ago, but never formally registered on the eNATIS system. Over time, critical documents had been lost or were never issued, and the original importer could no longer be located. As a result, no official import record existed in the licensing system — making registration seem out of reach.

Several clients approached Titan Tides Logistics with a frustrating and often overlooked issue: their vehicles were erroneously or prematurely flagged as “Marked for Export.” This designation, typically added when vehicles are registered for international shipping, can block clients from renewing licenses, registering ownership transfers, or insuring the vehicle locally—despite the car never leaving South Africa.