Rae Vivier Head: AEO South African Revenue Service

Rae has had a varied career with the SARS, most of it in the Customs Division. Highlights of her career include spearheading the comprehensive modernization of trade processes and earned the World Bank’s “Most Improved Customs in the World” vote in in 2012. In her current portfolio, Rae is focussed on developing cooperative compliance programmes with trade partners and government agencies and initiatives she is leading include developing a Single Regional Authorised Economic Operator, a Single Government Authorised Economic Operator Programme, and a new Licensing Framework for Customs Intermediaries. She is an accomplished leader experienced in large business operations in more than 30 localities, extremely passionate about trade facilitation and building a tax and customs system based on voluntary compliance. Rae is skilled in maintaining positive relations with stakeholders and working with and through them to build the customs ecosystem. She is committed to excellence and making a difference. Rae was elected as the Customs Vice-Chair of the World Customs Organisation’s SAFE Framework Working Group in 2022. She has a master’s degree from the University of Canberra, Australia.