Customs

Coated Paper Provisional Anti-dumping Duty

On 27 September 2013 the South African Revenue Service (SARS) informed of the imposition of provisional anti-dumping duties (provisional payment) on paper and paperboard imported from or originating in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the People's Republic of China (China). The provisional payment is imposed up to and including 14 March 2013. The notice refers to tariff “subheading 48.10”, but it should have been tariff “heading”, as it is a 4-digit code. The provisional payment for South Korea is 17.25% and reads “Paper and paperboard, coated on one or both sides with kaolin (China clay) or other inorganics substances, with or without a binder, and with no other coating, whether or not surface-coloured, surface decorated or printed, in rolls or rectangular (including square) sheets or any size, of a kind used for writing, printing or other graphic purposes, not containing fibres obtained by a mechanical or chemi-mechanical process or of which not more than 10 per cent by mass of the total fibre content consist of such fibres, with a mass of 70g/m2 or more but not exceeding 400g/m2 (including that manufactured by Moorim Paper, Moorim SP and Moorim P&P but excluding that manufactured by Hansol Paper and Artone Paper).” The provisional payment for China is 14.145 and reads “Paper and paperboard, coated on one or both sides with kaolin (China clay) or other inorganics substances, with or without a binder, and with no other coating, whether or not surface-coloured, surface decorated or printed, in rolls or rectangular (including square) sheets or any size, of a kind used for writing, printing or other graphic purposes, not containing fibres obtained by a mechanical or chemi-mechanical process or of which not more than 10 per cent by mass of the total fibre content consist of such fibres, with a mass of 70g/m2 or more but not exceeding 400g/m2". It is evident from the Government Gazette notice that in the instance of South Korea, Hansol Paper and Artone Paper defended the action, whilst this was not the case for China. The reason being, that a provisional payment was imposed for China, without any exclusion.

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