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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.
GUIDELINES
AND CONDITIONS PERTAINING TO
SAFEGUARD APPLICATIONS IN TERMS
OF ARTICLE 16 OF THE AGREEMENT
ON TRADE, DEVELOPMENT AND
CO-OPERATION BETWEEN THE
EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND ITS
MEMBER STATES AND THE REPUBLIC
OF SOUTH AFRICA
The
International Trade
Administration Commission of
South Africa (ITAC) published a
notice entitled
Guidelines and Conditions
pertaining to Safeguard
Applications in terms of Article
16 of the Agreement on Trade,
Development and Co-operation
between the European Community
and its Member States and the
Republic of South Africa. The
notice was published emanating
from the agreement, which was
concluded in 2000. Article 16
of the Agreement provides for
safeguard action in defined
circumstances, aligned with the
General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT) and the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) rules and
national legislation.
Safeguard
action must be aligned with the
WTO Agreement on Subsidies and
Countervailing Measures (SCM)
which regulates the actions
countries can take to counter
the effects of subsidies.
Schedule 2 of
Jacobsens (the Harmonised
Customs Tariff of the Southern
African Customs Union (SACU))
provides for anti-dumping
duties, countervailing duties
and safeguard duties.
Dumping is an
action by a company. The
provisions governing the levy of
anti-dumping duty are contained
in Schedule 2 of the SACU Tariff
and provides for a levy to be
imposed and the collection of
anti-dumping duties on goods
imported into the Southern
African Customs Union from
outside the Customs Union
territory. In this regard, the
governments of the Southern
African Customs Union
promulgated legislation. This is
aligned with the GATT and WTO
legislation and seeks to
determine the manner in which
the articles liable for
anti-dumping duties are to be
identified; the manner in which
export price, normal price, the
margin of dumping is to be
determined; and the manner in
which the duty is to be
collected and assessed under the
Act. In South Africa, these
rules are called Anti-Dumping
Regulations, which are
regulations to the International
Trade Administration Act, 2002.
A subsidy is
defined as either the action by
a government that will grant
funding directly to persons or
by the action of requiring
companies to subsidise certain
customers. Countervailing duties
are imposed, in line with the
WTO Agreement on Subsidies and
Countervailing Measures and the
WTO Rules, if the ITAC finds
evidence that the actions of the
government in the exporting
country had a detrimental effect
on industry in our country.
Article XIX
of GATT read with the WTO
Agreement on Safeguards (AOS)
provides for Safeguard action by
countries which face a situation
of increased imports of any
commodity which causes or
threatens to cause serious
injury to domestic producers of
like or directly competitive
products. The safeguard action
can include the imposition of
tariffs over and above the bound
rates or Quota Restrictions or
Tariff Rate Quotas. In South
Africa – and SACU – safeguard
duties are imposed under Part 3
of Schedule 2. The ITAC
Safeguard Regulations are based
on WTO Agreement on Safeguards
which establishes Rules for
application of Safeguard
measures. The ITAC regulations
and its implementation are
consistent with Article XIX of
GATT 1994 and investigations to
implement safeguard duties in
Schedule 2 and the imposition of
the safeguard duties are thus
also consistent with these
rules.
The notice
the ITAC has published is a
reference and procedural guide
pertaining to the application of
safeguard action in terms of
Article 16 of the TDCA, aligned
with WTO rules.
Further
information can be obtained from
the Senior Manger: Trade
Remedies I, Ms Carina Janse van
Vuuren at 012 394 3594.
Download
Notice 744 0f 2013
for more information. |
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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.
The ITAC has
received the following
applications concerning
amendments to the SACU Customs
Tariff:
LIST
13/2013 – NOTICE 745 OF 2013
PUBLISHED IN GOVERNMENT GAZETTE
36666 OF 19 JULY 2013:
Creation of a rebate provision
for non-linear glass tubes
(envelopes) equipped with
mountings and leading-in wires
for the manufacture of compact
fluorescent lamps (CFL)
The
International Trade
Administration Commission (ITAC)
has received an application for
the creation of a rebate
provision for non-linear glass
tubes (envelopes) equipped with
mountings and leading in wires,
classifiable in tariff heading
85.39, for the manufacture of
compact fluorescent lamps (CFL)
classifiable in tariff
subheading 8539.31.90.
Enquiries:
ITAC Ref 07/2013, contact Mr
Daniel Thwala, telephone (012)
394 5162 or email:
dthwala@itac.org.za .
Amendment of rebate item
316.18/8504.10/01.06
In addition to the application
above, ITAC has also received an
application to amend rebate item
316.08/8504.10/01.06 by changing
the minimum power rating from 8W
to 5W.
The rebate provision will be
amended to cover electronic
ballasts, for the manufacture of
fluorescent discharge lamps
(excluding ultra-violet lamps)
of tariff subheading 8539.31.90,
with a power rating of 5W or
more but not exceeding 23W.
The effect of the amended rebate
provision will be that
electronic ballasts, for the
manufacture of fluorescent
discharge lamps (excluding
ultra-violet lamps) of tariff
subheading 8539.31.90, with a
power rating of between 5 W and
8W which are currently excluded
from the rebate provision will
also qualify for the rebate
provision once it is amended.
The applicant was Eveready (Pty)
Ltd, and the reason for the
application is to provide
support for the compact lamps
manufacturing industry in the
SACU region and to also advance
the national initiative to
develop the local green
economy. It is further stated
that the new and amended rebate
provisions will lead to job
creation in SACU.
Enquiries:
ITAC Ref 07/2013, contact Mr
Daniel Thwala, telephone (012)
394 5162 or email:
dthwala@itac.org.za .
Representations should be
submitted to The Chief
Commissioner, ITAC, Private Bag
X753, PRETORIA, 0001 within
four (4) weeks, that is by
16 August 2013.
Download Notice
745 of 2013 for
more information.
Customs
Tariff Application List 12/2013
was published under Notice 634
of 21 June 2013 in Government
Gazette 36575. |
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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. |
Imposition of anti-dumping
duties on unframed mirrors
Anti-dumping duties are imposed
on unframed mirrors of a
thickness of 2mm or more, but
not exceeding 6mm, originating
in or imported from the People's
Republic of China ("China") as
recommended in ITAC Report No.
435.
The definite anti-dumping duty
of 40,22% is imposed with
retrospective effect to 8 March
2013, which was the date of the
imposition of the provisional
payment. (Notice R.163 published
in GG 36208 on 8 March 2013
refers).
The amendment was published on
the 26th of July 2013
in Government Gazette No. 36684
under Notice R.516.
The Jacobsens reference number
of the amendment is A2/1/348.
The current rate of duty on the
specified unframed mirrors
originating in or imported from
China is now 55,22%, and the
remaining duties are as follows:
general - 15%; EFTA - 3,7%; and
the SADC and EU - free.
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rule amendments. |
