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RULES TO CHAPTERS 11 TO CHAPTER 20
AND 24 OF CUSTOMS CONTROL BILL RELEASED FOR COMMENT
(Due date for comments: 26 September 2014)
Since the start of South Africa’s Customs modernisation
journey various versions of the new Customs Control Act has been
published for comments. The first round was published in October 2009, and a revised version in May 2014.
The Rules will be published for comment in various batches
prior to the promulgation of the new legislation, and the second batch
to the Customs Control Act have been published on the website of
the South African Revenue Services (SARS).
The draft Rules that were published were those for Chapters 11 to 20 and Chapter 24 of the Customs Control Act
(Act 31 of 2014).
Importers, exporters and Customs Brokers should be aware that
the format of the Rules have changed. The
Rules are no longer numbered with the sections of the Act, but with the
Chapter number of the Act.
The newly published Rules now cover the following Customs
procedures:
Chapter 11: Excise warehouse transit procedure;
Chapter 12: Temporary admission procedure;
Chapter 13: Warehousing procedure;
Chapter 14: Tax — free shop procedure;
Chapter 15: Stores procedure;
Chapter 16: Export procedure;
Chapter 17: Temporary export Procedure;
Chapter 18: Inward processing procedure;
Chapter 19: Processing for home use procedure; and
Chapter 20: Outward processing procedure.
Chapter 24 provides for the expedited clearance and release of
goods in accordance with procedures that are less cumbersome than the
standard procedures. Accredited
clients must apply to make use of these procedures upon which customs
will grant permission that the person in question may submit a
shortened version of the customs clearance declaration (previously
called bill of entry).
Expedited clearance and release are also allowed in the case
of low value goods and in the case of a disaster or medical emergency.
The draft Rules can be downloaded from the SARS website. A
comment sheet is also available on the SARS website.
Your comments should be submitted to sauthar@sars.gov.za
before 26 September 2014.
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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.
ANTI-DUMPING DUTY
INVESTIGATIONS
ITAC has published the following documents relating to the
SACU tariff and tariff amendment applications:
Sunset review of anti-dumping duties on wire ropes and cables
of a diameter exceeding 32 mm:
In accordance with the provisions of section 53.1 of the anti-dumping
regulations, any anti-dumping duty shall be terminated on a date not
later than five years from its imposition unless the authorities
determine, in a review initiated before that date on their own
initiative or upon a duly substantiated request made by or on behalf of
the domestic industry within a reasonable period of time to that date,
that the expiry of the anti-dumping duties would likely lead to
continuation and/or recurrence of dumping and material injury.
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On the 28 June 2013, ITAC notified the interested parties
through Government Notice No. R664 of 2013 in Government Gazette 36592 that, unless a substantiated request
is made indicating that the expiry of the anti-dumping duties on
imports of wire ropes and cables and stranded wire originating in or
imported from Germany, the United Kingdom (UK), the People’s Republic
of China (PRC) and South Korea and countervailing duties on wire ropes
and cables and stranded wire originating in or imported from India
would likely lead to the continuation and/or recurrence of dumping and
injury, the anti-dumping duty and countervailing duties will expire on
12 February 2014.
On 1 November 2013 ITAC received a sunset review application
from Scaw South Africa (Pty) Ltd.
The notice of initiation of the sunset review of the
anti-dumping duties on wire ropes and cables of a diameter exceeding 32
mm originated in or imported from Germany and the UK and on stranded
wire of a diameter exceeding or equal to 12,7
mm originating in or imported from the PRC was published in the Government Gazette on the
31 January 2014. The due date for responses was the
12 March 2014.
After considering all the information submitted, ITAC found
that the expiry of the anti-dumping duties on wire ropes and cables of
a diameter exceeding 32 mm originating in or imported from Germany and
the UK and on stranded wire of a diameter exceeding or equal to 12,77 mm originating in or imported from the PRC would
likely lead to the recurrence of dumping and material injury to the
SACU industry.
It was therefore decided that the current anti-dumping
provisions in items 215.02/7312.10.40/0408(87),
215.02/7312.10.90/03.08(84) and 215.02/7312.10.20/01.08(82) be
maintained.
The Minister of Trade and Industry approved the recommendation
by ITAC. Detailed reasons for ITAC’s recommendation are set out in
Report No. 480.
Also refer to Government Notice No. R633 of 2014 which was
published in Government Gazette
37889 of 8 August 2014.
CONCLUSION OF THE
INVESTIGATION INTO THE ALLEGED DUMPING OF FROZEN POTATO CHIPS
ORIGINATING IN OR IMPORTED FROM BELGIUM AND THE NETHERLANDS
ITAC initiated an investigation into the alleged dumping of
frozen potato chips originating in or imported from Belgium and the
Netherlands which was initiated through Government Notice No. R635 of Government Gazette 36575
published on 21 June 2013.
The investigation was initiated after ITAC decided that there
was prima facie evidence to
show that the subject product was being imported at dumped prices,
causing material injury to the SACU industry.
In conclusion ITAC made a recommendation to the Minister of
Trade and Industry to impose definitive anti-dumping duties on the
subject product where after the Minister decided to suspend the
imposition of the anti-dumping duties until the termination of the
safeguard duty on frozen potato chips.
Enquiries: Mr
Edwin Mkwanazi Tel (012) 394 3742 or Mr Sandile Mantolo Tel (012) 394 3902.
Comments are due by 18 August 2014 (with the exception of the
application on mussels which was due on 4 August 2014.
Download Customs
and Excise Act: Customs Tariff Applications list 07/2014: Comments
invited G 37830 GeN 576 - comments by 16 Aug
2014.
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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.
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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 tariff amendments
at time of publication.
The last
tariff amendments were published on 25 July 2014 were
sent to subscribers under cover of Supplement 1036.
Download the latest Customs Watch to
have access to the latest tariff and rule amendments.
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