'Chambers are abusing their power in certificates of origin tariffs'

Leon Neill A NEW REGULATION governing certificates of origin for shipments being exported by non-members of a chamber of business is discriminatory and detrimental to the facilitatory role the clearing agent plays in the export process, says Denver Wright, immediate past president of the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF)) East London branch. Wright has called on SAAFF to approach both the South African Chamber of Business (SACOB) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to have the regulation rescinded. Increases in tariffs for issuing Certificates of Origin were introduced by SACOB recently, he says, but more importantly a two-tier tariff was created for members and non-members. Wright believes that this is abuse by chambers of commerce of the authority granted to them by DTI in the issue of these certificates. "Every individual chamber has created its own tariff. In East London, for example, the certification rate is R40 for members and R100 for non-members," he says. "In effect this means that if a clearing agent presents a certificate for endorsement relative to a shipment being exported by a non-member then they must pay the full price. The definition of non-member includes the manufacturer or supplier of the goods as well as the clearing agent, if not a member of the chamber," says Wright, who is also Ršhlig branch manager in the city. "The majority of clothing cargo moving to the United States from the East London area is manufactured by concerns operating under contract from Malaysia or Taiwan. They have previously avoided becoming members of local chambers due to their high employment rate which attracts excessive membership fees from the chamber. "It has always been our role to both frame and process certificates of origin and affidavits together with customs bills of entry and wharfage orders on our clients' behalf. We have always believed that as members of the local chamber the certificate of origin relationship was between ourselves and the chamber, irrespective of who was exporting the cargo. "The new ruling to literally forces the exporter to become a member at great cost to himself with a nominal return on documentation fees, and for agents to now consider the option of withdrawing their membership. There is no justification for a disparity between members and non-members as the work performed, numbering and stamping, is exactly the same. All it does is add to output costs of exports which we are desperately trying to avoid."A