South Africa
Disaster Management Act, 2002
Directions Regarding e-Commerce Sales During Alert Level 4 of the COVID-19 National State of Disaster
Government Notice R535 of 2020
- Published in Government Gazette no. 43321 on 14 May 2020
- Commenced on 14 May 2020
- [This is the version of this document from 14 May 2020.]
1. Definitions.
In these Directions, any word or expression to which a meaning has been assigned in the Disaster Management Act and the Regulations bears the meaning so assigned and, unless the context indicates otherwise —"Alert Level 4" means Alert Level 4 as determined in terms of regulation 3(2) of the Regulations, commencing on 1 May 2020;"courier or delivery service" means a company, an employee of that company or a person who delivers goods from one place or person to another place or person, and may include the delivery divisions of retailers and delivery services set up by spaza shops and informal traders;"Disaster Management Act" means the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002);"e-Commerce" means the buying and selling of goods using telephones and digital platforms, including the internet and mobile phone based applications, and for this purpose includes goods to be delivered by a courier or delivery service;"Minister" means the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition;"national state of disaster" means the national state of disaster relating to the COVID-19 outbreak declared in Government Notice No. R 313 of Government Gazette No. 43096 of 15 March 2020;"Regulations" means the Regulations issued in terms of section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act and published on 29 April 2020 in Government Notice No. R.480 of Government Gazette No. 43258; and"warehouse or depot" means the premises where goods are stored prior to their distribution for sale, and may include stockrooms in retail stores where goods from such storerooms are sold on e-Commerce platforms.2. Purpose
The purpose of these Directions is to provide direction, in respect of Part E.20 of Table 1 of the Regulations, on—3. Background
4. Goods which may be transacted through e-Commerce platforms
Subject to all applicable laws, all goods may be transacted through e-Commerce platforms, except for goods prohibited for sale in terms of regulation 26 and 27 of the Regulations.5. Protocols for e-Commerce retailers
All retailers using e-Commerce platforms to sell goods must ensure the following:6. Protocols for courier or delivery services
All e-Commerce courier or delivery services must ensure the following:7. Protocols for customers
All e-Commerce customers must ensure the following:8. Commencement and duration
These Directions come into effect on the date of publication in the Government Gazette, and shall remain in force for the duration of Alert Level 4.History of this document
14 May 2020 this version
Published in
Government Gazette number 43321
Commences.