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Customs News Bulletin

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13 April 2017

 

 

Latest News

UPDATE ON NEW SOUTH AFRICAN CUSTOMS LEGISLATION

The latest update regarding the new South African Customs legislation was published on the SARS website on 16 May 2016.

Since then the second drafts to the Rules to the Customs Control Act No. 31 of 2014 (assented to on 21 July 2014) and the Customs Duty Act No. 30 of 2014 (assented to on 9 July 2014) were published for public comment. Comments on the second draft of the Customs Duty Rules were due on 30 November 2016.

The following is an excerpt of the latest update from SARS on the new Customs legislation (letter dated 16 May 2016):

"Please take note that we intend to temporarily halt any further amendments to the Rules after the comments during this round of public participation have been considered. This decision has been taken to facilitate the process of systems development in preparation for the first phase of implementation, which is expected to start before the end of the 2016/17 financial year".

The first phase of the implementation of the new legislation relates to re-registration of existing customs clients under the new Acts.

Sections 931 and 933 of the Customs Control Act 2014 provide that existing registrations and licenses (under the Customs and Excise Act No. 91 of 1964) will lapse after 30 days from the effective date of the Customs Control Act No. 31 of 2014 and Customs Duty Act No. 30 of 2014, except if such registrants and/or licensees re-apply for new registrations and/or licenses under the new Acts.

 

Customs Tariff Applications and Outstanding Tariff Amendments

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 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.

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.

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.

The International Trade Commission of South Africa (ITAC) also publishes Sunset Review Applications in relation to anti-dumping duty in terms of which any definitive anti-dumping duty will be terminated on a date not later than five years from the date of imposition, unless the International Trade Administration Commission determines, in a review initiated before that date on its own initiative or upon a duly substantiated request made by or on behalf of the domestic industry, that the expiry of the duty would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping and material injury.

ITAC published a notice which is titled "Initiation of sunset review of anti-dumping duties on frozen bone-in portions of fowls of species gallus domesticus imported or originating from the United States of America" under Notice 270 in Government Gazette 40717 of 24 March 2017. Comments are due by 24 April 2017.

The response to the questionnaire and any information regarding this matter and any arguments concerning the allegation of dumping and the resulting threat of material injury must be submitted in writing to the Senior Manager: Trade Remedies II at ITAC.

Enquiries may be directed to the investigating officers, Ms Thuli Nkomo at telephone number +27 12 394 1190 or Ms Boniswa Mehlomakulu at telephone number +27 12 394 3636 or at fax number +27 12 394 0518.

Comments are due by 24 April 2017. ITAC published an application to increase the current duty rates on dairy spreads of subheading 0405.20 and certain extracted oleoresins of subheading 3301.90 from the current rates of duty to the WTO bound rates in a Government Gazette under List 02 of 2017.

The applications were published in Government Gazette No. 40691 of 17 March 2017 in Notice No. 224 of 2017.

Comments are due by 13 April 2017.

Refer to the Jacobsens Customs Bulletin of 23 March 2017 for more information 

 

 

 

 

 

Customs Tariff Amendments

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 no amendments to the Common External Tariff (CET) of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) at time of publication. The latest tariff amendments were published on 31 March 2017.

These amendments were forwarded to Jacobsens Subscribers under cover of Supplement 1088.

The amendments have been published in the Customs Watch which is also available on the Jacobsens website at www.jacobsens.co.za.

 

Customs Rule Amendments

The Customs and Excise Act is amended by the Minister of Finance. Certain provisions of the Act are supported by Customs and Excise Rules, which are prescribed by the Commission of SARS. These provisions are numbered in accordance with the sections of the Act. The rules are more user-friendly than the Act, and help to define provisions which would otherwise be unclear and difficult to interpret.

Forms are also prescribed by rule, and are published in the Schedule to the Rules.

There were no amendments to the Customs and Excise Rules at time of publication. The latest Rule amendment (DAR/166) was published in Government Gazette 40594 of 3 February 2017.

 

 

 

 

 

Contact Information:

 

Contact the Author:

Havandren Nadasan
Jacobsens Editor

Tel: 031-268 3510
e-mail to:
jacobsens@lexisnexis.co.za

 

Leon Marais
Independent Customs Consultant
Tel: 053-203 0727
e-mail to:
leon@itacs.co.za

 

LexisNexis

 

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