On 18 March 2011 the South African Revenue Service (Sars) announced the reduction in the “General” rate of customs duty on glass ampoules from 10% ad valorem to free of customs duty. A “glass ampoule” is a small sealed vial that is used to contain and preserve a sample, usually in a solid or liquid form. The application for the reduction of the customs duty was initially brought by Bodene (Pty) Ltd, who reasoned that there were no Sacu manufacturers of glass ampoules, especially for pharmaceutical applications, and as a result the customs duty contributed to the high costs of an already expensive item. Glass ampoules were previously manufactured in Sacu by Anchor (Pty) Ltd, which has subsequently terminated such activity. It is understood that only one Sacu company responded to the initial application and supported it. If you’re interested in reading more on the investigation, please send us an email and we will send you a report of the investigation. Story by : Duty Bound
