‘Both sides of the story must be aired'

I was interested to read the article “Customs stops burn big holes in importers’ pockets” and feel it is important that both sides of the story be aired in order to put Mr van der Merwe’s comments into perspective. As an industry, the home textiles sector, in direct contrast to the views expressed by Mr van der Merwe, does find a pressing need for the Customs division to act to ensure that under-invoicing and incorrect classification of textile imports are rigorously policed. This is particularly so when literally many hundreds of tons of such products flood the South African market on a monthly basis, forcing legitimate businesses to close and resulting in widespread job losses. Mr van der Merwe seems to take the information given him – no doubt from his clients – at face value without questioning the basis on which Customs detains containers, overlooking the illegality of the actions and only seeing the “frustrations along the logistics chain”. As an industry we recognise the importance of the facilitation of trade, but also believe that this should not result simultaneously in the facilitation of illegal activity. We are happy to offer the services of experts in our industry to assist Mr van der Merwe’s clients in valuing their imports for customs purposes, and indeed have offered the same service to Customs. Perhaps once an independent assessment is made of the “realities” of Customs’ actions, Mr van der Merwe may reconsider his position. Stephen Rubidge, chairman, South African Home Textiles Manufacturers Employers Organisation.