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.
Latest International Trade News
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 from
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.
|
The
International Trade
Administration Commission (ITAC)
is responsible for tariff
investigations, amendments, and
trade remedies in South Africa
and on behalf of SACU.
Tariff
investigations include:
Increases
in the customs duty rates in
Schedule
No. 1 Part 1 of Jacobsens. These
applications apply to all the
SACU Countries, and, if amended,
thus have the potential to
affect the import duty rates in
Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia,
Swaziland and South Africa.
Reductions
in the customs duty rates in
Schedule No. 1 Part 1. These
applications apply to all the
SACU Countries, and, if amended,
thus have the potential to
affect the import duty rates in
Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia,
Swaziland and South Africa.
Rebates of
duty on products, available in
the Southern African Customs
Union (SACU), for use in the
manufacture of goods, as
published in Schedule No. 3 Part
1, and in Schedule No. 4 of
Jacobsens. Schedule No. 3 Part 1
and Schedule No. 4 are identical
in all the SACU Countries.
Rebates of
duty on inputs used in the
manufacture of goods for export,
as published in Schedule No. 3
Part 2 and in item 470.00. These
provisions apply to all the SACU
Countries.
Refunds of
duties and drawbacks of duties
as provided for in Schedule No
5. These provisions are
identical in the all the SACU
Countries.
Trade
remedies include:
Anti-dumping duties (in Schedule
No. 2 Part 1 of Jacobsens),
countervailing duties to
counteract subsidisation in
foreign countries (in Schedule
No. 2 Part 2), and safeguard
duties (Schedule No. 2 Part 3),
which are imposed as measures
when a surge of imports is
threatening to overwhelm a
domestic producer, in accordance
with domestic law and
regulations and consistent with
WTO rules.
Dumping is
defined as a situation where
imported goods are being sold at
prices lower than in the country
of origin, and also causing
financial injury to domestic
producers of such goods. In
other words there should be a
demonstrated causal link between
the dumping and the injury
experienced. To remedy such
unfair pricing, ITAC may, at
times, recommend the imposition
of substantial duties on imports
or duties that are equivalent to
the dumping margin (or to the
margin of injury, if this margin
is lower).
Countervailing investigations are
conducted to determine whether
to impose countervailing duties
to protect a domestic industry
against the unfair trade
practice of proven subsidised
imports from foreign competitors
that cause material injury to a
domestic producer.
Safeguard measures,
can be introduced to protect a
domestic industry against
unforeseen and overwhelming
foreign competition and not
necessarily against unfair
trade, like the previous two
instruments. In the WTO system,
a member may take a safeguard
action, which is, restricting
imports temporarily in the face
of a sustained increase in
imports that is causing serious
injury to the domestic producer
of like products. Safeguard
measures are universally applied
to all countries, unlike
anti-dumping and countervailing
duties that are aimed at a
specific firm or country.
Schedule
No. 2 is identical in all the
SACU Countries.
ITAC has
received the following
applications concerning
amendments to the Customs Tariff
of the Southern African Customs
Union (SACU). These
applications related to:
1. Increase
in the rate of Customs duty on
uncoated paper and paperboard of
subheadings 4802.56.20 and
4802.56.90
ITAC has
received an application from
Paper Manufacturers Association
of Southern Africafor an
increase in rate of Customs duty
on uncoated paper and paperboard
classifiable under tariff
subheadings 4802.56.20 and
4802.56.90 from free of duty to
the WTO bound rates of 5% and
20% respectively.Enquiries:
Mzukisi Skenjane, Tel: (012) 394
3675, fax (012) 394 4675 or
e-mail:
mskenjana@itac.org.za.
Representations should be
submitted by 15
November 2013. |
2.
Increase in the rate of Customs
duty on windscreen wiper blades
Windscreen
wiper blades fall within tariff
subheading 8512.90.
ITAC has
received an application to
increase the rate of duty on
windscreen wiper blades from
free of duty to 30% ad valorem.
Enquiries: Sipho
Tshabalala, tel.
(012) 394 3739 or
Daniel Thwala, tel.
(012) 394 5162.
Representations should be
submitted by 15
November 2013.
3. Reduction
in the General rate of Customs
duty on wheel hubs
Wheel hubs
(excluding those of unmachined
cast metal) fall within tariff
subheading 8708.50.20.
ITAC has
received an application for a
reduction in the general rate of
duty from 20% to free on hubs of
subheading No 8708.50.20 ITAC
Ref 20/2013, Enquiries:
Mr N
Mahlalela, tel (012)
394 3684, fax 394 4684.
Representations should be
submitted by 15 November
2013.
4. Creation
of a rebate provision for methyl
ester sulphayte for the
manufacture of washing
preparations.
Methyl ester
sulphate falls within tariff
subheading 3402.11. The
subheading is subdivided into
two 8-digit subheadings, namely
3402.11.10 covering anionic
organic surface-active agents,
whether or not put up for retail
sale, in immediate packings of a
content not exceeding 10 kg.
All preparations of this
subheading is free of duty when
imported into the Southern
African Customs Union (SACU).
Those
preparations in immediate
packings of a content exceeding
10 kg fall within tariff
subheading 3402.11.20 and are
subject to a general rate of
duty of 15% and a rate of duty
of 3,7% when imported from the
EFTA Countries, Iceland,
Liechtenstein, Norway and
Switzerland.
ITAC has
received an application for the
creation of a rebate provision
on methyl ester sulphate of the
latter subheading, for the
manufacture of washing
preparations (detergents)
classifiable in tariff heading
34.02.
ITAC Ref
16/2012, Enquiries Mr Nkulana
Phenya fax (012) 394 4677 or
e-mail Nphenya@itac.org.za or
Ms Ayanda Ndou at fax (012) 394
4724 or e-mail
endou@itac.org.za
The
applications were published
under LIST 16/2013 in Notice No.
1031 OF 2013 which was published
in Government Gazette No. 36923
of 18 October 2013.
Customs
Tariff Application List 15/2013
was published under Notice 945
of 2013 in Government Gazette
36849 of 20 September 2013.
The following
applications were published
under List 15/2013:
1. Increase
in the domestic dollar-based
reference price (DBRP) for sugar
from US$ 358/ton to US$ 764/ton
through an adjustment of the
calculation of the DBRP for
sugar by basing it on the
domestic cost of production;
2. Comments
requested on the increase in the
allocation of quota levels for
the importation of used
overcoats under rebate item
460.11/00.00/01.00 for 2014;
3. Creation
of a rebate provision for full
customs duty on (other) pile
fabrics, knitted or crocheted,
of man-mad fibres, classifiable
in tariff subheading 6001.92,
for the manufacture of footwear
with uppers of textile
materials, classifiable in
Chapter 64;
4.
Withdrawal of the application
for an increase in the rate of
duty on Biaxially oriented
polypropylene classifiable under
tariff subheadings 3920.20.25
and 3920.20.30 from 10% to 20%
View
Jacobsens Customs News Bulletin
dated 22 October 2013 for more
information. |
With the
exception of certain parts of
Schedule
No. 1, such as Schedule No. 1
Part 2 (excise duties), Schedule
No. 1 Part 3 (environmental
levies) Schedule No. 1 Part 5
(fuel and road accident fund
levies), the other parts of the
tariff is amended by SARS based
on recommendations made by ITAC
resulting from the
investigations relating to
Customs Tariff Applications
received by them. The ITAC then
investigates and makes
recommendations to the Minister
of Trade and Industry, who
requests the Minister of Finance
to amend the Tariff in line with
the ITAC’s recommendations. SARS
is responsible for drafting the
notices to amend the tariff, as
well as for arranging for the
publication of the notices in
Government Gazettes.
During the annual budget speech
by the Minister of
Finance in February, it was
determined that parts of the
tariff that are not amended
resulting from
ITAC recommendations, must be
amended through proposals that
are tabled by the Minister of
Finance.
Once a year big tariff
amendments are published by SARS,
which is in line with the
commitments of South Africa and
SACU under international trade
agreements. |
Under these amendments, which
are either published in November
or early in December, the import
duties on goods are reduced
under South Africa’s
international trade commitments
under existing trade agreements.
There were tariff amendments at
time of publication – that is on
1 November 2013.
Subscribers can expect to
receive the following loose-leaf
amendments under cover of
Supplement 1027.
The amendment relates to the
following tariff amendment which
was published in a Government
Gazette on 25 October 2013:
Part 3 of Schedule No. 6 is
amended by the substitution of Note 6(ij)(ii)(aa)(C)
in respect of refunds for diesel
used in commercial fishing
vessels
The amendment was published in
Government Gazette Notice No.
36952 of 25 October 2013 under
Notice No. R.802 (Jacobsens
Reference: A6/3/37)
Download the
latest Customs Watch to have
access to the latest tariff and
rule amendments. |