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Customs News Bulletin

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15 November 2017

 

 

Latest News

SA GOVERNMENT SAYS IT IS SAFE TO TRAVEL TO ZIM DESPITE TRAVEL WARNINGS FROM VARIOUS COUNTRIES

The situation in Zimbabwe is explosive after the Zimbabwean military had seized power to get rid of the “criminals” around President Mugabe.

Three hours ago, the SA Government stated that it is business as usual with Zimbabwe despite the coup. Various countries have however issued cautionary advice for their citizens travelling to or in Zimbabwe.

According to Times LIVE, flights from Johannesburg to and in Zimbabwe appear to be unaffected.

Readers are advised to monitor the situation closely.

 

Classification Corner                                                                                                                    

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (Harmonized System) is a combined tariff/statistical nomenclature. It plays just as import a role in the compilation and collection of statistics as in revenue collection.

There are also many other instruments that are used in the collection of statistics dealing with economic activities, transportable goods and services. There are various correspondence tables available on the website of the United Nations Statistical Division in terms of which code numbers of the nomenclatures can be mapped or linked. However, these correspondence tables will not be useful if goods are classified incorrectly.

For statistics to be meaningful it must be compared with other nomenclatures over a period. All these nomenclatures are also amended regularly, and in some instances the statistics are covered by more than one review cycle of a specific nomenclature. For example, if one needs statistics on replacement LED bulbs, you would need to determine the classification thereof under the current version of the HS (HS 2017) and you will also need the statistical information for the HS 2012 version. For this reason, the WCO are publishing correlation tables which list and explain all changes since the 1988 version (HS 1988/HS 1992); HS 1992/HS 1996); HS 1996/HS2002; HS 2002/HS 2007; HS 2007/HS2012 and HS 2012/HS 2017). There were mainly editorial changes in the 1992 version of the HS, but since then there has been many important and ground-breaking changes to assist Customs administrations and other competent/controlling authorities to monitor and control strategic goods: dual use goods, weapons of mass destruction, hazardous chemicals, substances of environmental concern, and for the last couple of review cycles also to monitor and control foodstuffs that must be monitored for the purposes of food security. The HS is also reviewed because of changing trade patterns and due to changes in technology.

The HS currently has more than 5 300 six-digit subheadings (codes) compared to the 3 121 headings of the United Nations’ Standard International Trade Classification (SITC). The HS and the SITC are the two most important nomenclatures for statistics on transportable goods. From time to time the most important (international) reference nomenclatures for statistical purposes are amended at the same time to make comparison of data easier.

The Harmonized System is and remains the most important statistical nomenclature because it is the most comprehensive statistical nomenclature. The review cycles of the HS is also shorter and more frequent than the rest.

The General Interpretative Rules, the legal provisions, and certain principles of classification make the HS user-friendly and the most successful international trade instrument that has ever been developed. In addition, there are many tools and complimentary publications to assist with classification – such as the Alphabetical Index, the Harmonised System Explanatory Notes and the Compendium of Classification Opinions. These publications are in loose-leaf format or in electronic format. These publications are available from LexisNexis as sole Southern African distributor of World Customs Organization (WCO) products and publications.

Then there are also national and regional publications, such as the Jacobsens Guide to Classification, which is a companion to the Jacobsens Harmonized Customs Tariff, the Common External Tariff of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland (the Southern African Customs Union). The Guide to Classification is also available from LexisNexis.

 

IMPORT AND EXPORT PROHIBITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS

The Minister of  Environmental Affairs published proposed regulations regarding the export and import control of waste under the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 (Act 59 of 2008).

The Notice (Notice No. 1147) was published in Government Gazette 41213 of 30 October 2017. Comments are due by 30 November 2017.

The draft regulations deal with prohibitions, notification, consent for import, export and transit, requirements for the importation, exportation and transit of waste, re-importation of waste, record-keeping, offences and penalties.

Download the Notice at  https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/41213_gon1147.pdf or contact Mr Anben Pillay (apillay@environment.gov.za) at tel (012) 399 9827 for more information.

 

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.

There were no applications to amend the Common External Tariff (CET) of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) at the time of publication.

 

 

 

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 SACU Tariff at time of publication.

There will be amendments on Friday 17 November 2017.   

The tariff amendments will be sent to subscribers under Jacobsens Supplement 1097.

 

 

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 rule amendments at the time of publication.

The latest Rule amendment (DAR/169) was published in the Government Gazette 41165 of 6 October 2017. The notice number is R. 1081.

 

 

 

 

 

Contact Information:

 

 

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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