From time
to time certain government
departments publish draft
legislation to inform
stakeholders about their
intention to amend legislation,
and to invite comments. The
commentary period ranges from 2
week to longer periods,
depending on the urgency of the
matter.
The
Bulletin focuses on the
publication of information
relating to such matters which
impact on Customs and Excise
legislation and on broader
import and export legislation.
CUSTOMS BILLS PUBLISHED
The long-awaited Customs Control
Bill and Customs Duty Bills
introduced in the National
Assembly (Parliament) on 24
October 2013.
The
public hearings will take place
later this week.
Public hearings take place when
there is great public interest
in a Bill. These public
hearings are organised by the
relevant Portfolio Committee to
allow interested parties to
submit written comments and to
make oral representations on the
provisions of the Bill. The
members of the relevant
Portfolio Committee are then
tasked with considering and
debating the Bill in order to
determine whether they are
satisfied with the provisions of
the Bill. If the Portfolio
Committee is not satisfied with
the provisions of the Bill, it
is then amended to incorporate
the submissions of the Portfolio
Committee. At the conclusion of
its work, the Portfolio
Committee submits the Bill
together with a report to the
National Assembly for a second
reading debate and a vote. If
the National Assembly passes the
Bill, it is referred to the
National Council of Provinces ("NCOP")
for consideration.
The
rest of the parliamentary
process prior to signing Bill
into law will be that the Bill
is only referred to the
President after it has passed
through both the National
Assembly and NCOP. The
Constitution requires that the
President must assent to and
sign a Bill, however if the
President has reservations about
the constitutionality (whether
the provisions of a Bill are in
line with the Constitution or
not) of a Bill, he or she may
refer it back to the National
Assembly for reconsideration.
If
the Bill affects the provinces,
the NCOP must participate in the
reconsideration of the relevant
Bill. If a reconsidered Bill
accommodates the President’s
reservations, the President must
assent to and sign the Bill,
however if a reconsidered Bill
does not fully accommodate the
President’s reservations, the
President may either accept this
and assent to and sign the Bill
or refer it to the
Constitutional Court for a
decision on its
constitutionality. If the
Constitutional Court decides the
Bill is constitutional, the
President must sign it.
A
Bill that has been assented to
and signed by the President
becomes an Act of Parliament and
must be published shortly
thereafter in the Government
Gazette ("the Gazette"). An Act
takes effect (becomes binding on
everyone) when it is published
in the Gazette or on a date
determined in terms of the Act.
An Act may require certain
actions to be taken by the
Department before it can be
implemented, for instance the
publication and preparation of
subordinate legislation (regulations,
determinations or rules) to be
promulgated to further regulate
certain aspects in terms of an
Act. In such instances, an Act
contains a provision that
provides that the Act comes into
operation on a date determined
by the President by proclamation
in the Gazette. Once the
necessary actions have been
finalised, the President is
requested to put the Act into
operation on a certain date.
After the President has assented
to the implementation of the
Act, a proclamation is published
in the Gazette and the Act comes
into
operation on a date
determined in the proclamation.
It is
thus unlikely that these Bills
will become acts in 2013. It is
anticipated that the Bills will
be published for a third period
before they become the Customs
Control Act and the Customs Duty
Act respectively.
Download the
Bills
and the
explanatory memoranda form
the SARS website for more
information.
ANTI-DUMPING DUTY INVESTIGATION
ON FROZEN CHICKEN IMPORTED FROM
OR ORIGINATING IN GERMANY, THE
NETHERLANDS AND THE UNITED
KINGDOM
(Comment due 25 November 2013)
The South African Poultry
Association (SAPA) supported by
its counterparts in the SACU
Countries: Namib Poultry
Industries (Pty) Ltd, Swazi
Poultry Processors, Botswana
Poultry Association, Basotho
Poultry Farmers Association,
Grain S.A., and the Animal Feed
Manufacturers Association of
South Africa (AFMA), lodged an
application alleging that frozen
bone-in portions of fowls of the
species Gallus domesticus
were being dumped in the SACU
market, causing material injury
to the SACU industry concerned.
The applicant submitted
sufficient evidence and
established a prima facie
case to enable the International
Trade Administration Commission
of South Africa (ITAC) to arrive
at a reasonable conclusion that
an investigation should be
initiated on the basis of
dumping, material industry,
threat of material industry and
causality.
The South African chicken
producers, AFGRI, Country Fair,
Early Bird (Olifantsfontein and
Standerton), Rainbow Chicken,
Sovereign Foods and Supreme
Poultry provided injury
information in this regard.
These producers are responsible
for a major proportion of SACU
production.
Frozen bone-in portions of fowls
of the species Gallus
domesticus fall in tariff
subheading 0207.14.90.
The application was published in
Government Gazette No 36951
dated 25 October 2013 under
NOTICE 1047 of 2013. Download
NOTICE 1047.
Comments on the application are
due on 30 November 2013,
and should be submitted to:
The Senior Manager, Trade
Remedies II, Private Bag X753,
PRETORIA, 0001, Republic of
South Africa. The physical
address is The Senior Manager:
Trade Manager II, International
Trade Administration Commission
(ITAC), Block E, The dti Campus,
77 Meintjies Street, SUNNYSIDE,
PRETORIA.
DRAFT AMENDMENT OF SCHEDULE NO 6
PART 3, NOTE 6 (f) (iv)
(Comments due 30 October 2013)
Note
(f) in Part 3 of Schedule No 6
deals with mining on land:
Refunds of levies on eligible
purchases for distillate fuel
for mining as specified in
paragraph (b)(i) to this
paragraph.
The
proposed amendment aims to
exclude mining for sand, rock,
stone, soil (excluding topsoil),
clay, gravel and limestone as
mining activities, except
through quarrying. Dredging,
surface collection and
underground operations are
excluded.
Download the documents from the
SARS website at http://www.sars.gov.za/Legal/Preparation-of-Legislation/Pages/Draft-Documents-for-Public-Comment.aspx.
DRAFT TARIFF AMENDMENTS
EFFECTIVE FROM 1 JANUARY 2013
(Comment due on 29 October
2013)
The
South African Revenue Service
published various draft notices
which will give interested
parties an indication of what is
in stall for 2014.
Draft
Tariff Amendments including the
proposed amendments to implement
the EFTA phase-downs for 2014
with effect from 1 January 2014:
· Explanatory
Memorandum
· Draft
amendment of Part 1 of Schedule
No. 1 to implement 2014
phase-downs
· Draft
amendment of Part 1 of Schedule
No. 2 to replace 6-digit
commodity codes with 8-digit
commodity codes
· Draft
amendment of Part 2 of Schedule
No. 2 to replace 6-digit
commodity codes with 8-digit
commodity codes
· Draft
amendment to delete Note 8 in
Schedule No. 3
· Draft
amendment to delete Note 5 in
Schedule No. 4
· Draft
amendment to delete Note 14 in
Schedule No. 5
These
amendments relate to the annual
phase-downs and all proposed
amendments are explained in the
attached Explanatory Memorandum.
Download the documents from the
SARS website at http://www.sars.gov.za/Legal/Preparation-of-Legislation/Pages/Draft-Documents-for-Public-Comment.aspx .
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