The shipping industry is working hard towards meeting a December 15 deadline to submit comments on the draft customs legislation. According to Mike Walwyn, chairman of the Port Liaison Forum at the Cape Chamber of Commerce, a task team was formed following the decision by Thaba Mufamadi, chairman of parliament’s standing committee on finance (SCoF), to postpone deliberations on the two draft customs-related bills until next year and allow importers and the freight forwarding community time to comment. “The task team has been meeting regularly and a draft document has already been drawn up and will be submitted to SCoF by December 15,” he said. Industry was previously given only a few days to comment on the bills that will see some major changes in customs legislation.
