Valuation Policy on Imports During the course of last week the South African Revenue Service (SARS) released its External Policy – Customs Valuation on Imports. According to the Scope of the document: (i) This policy is for all Customs Officers dealing with the pre- or postclearance verification and calculation of the value for Customs duty purposes of imported goods. It specifically focuses on the provisions of Section 65 of the Customs and Excise Act (the Act), Sections 66(4)(5)(7)(8) and 66(9); and Section 73 of the Act. (ii) The policy explains how Customs interprets the law that relates to the value for Customs duty purposes. (iii) This policy does not cover: (i) The Transaction value method [Section 66(1) of the Act] which is covered in SC-CR-A-05; (ii) Anti-dumping; or (iii) Countervailing duty. The amendments to the External Policy relate to the 14-page annexed document titled ‘Terms of Sales’. In essence, the amendments relate to Incoterms®2010. The amended sections are in red. Incoterms®2010, which is covered weekly elsewhere in the publication, came into force on 01 January 2011. For ease of reference the first section under the heading “INCOTERMS 2010 RULES” reads as follows: (a) The contract of sale must clearly state the “term of sale” which applies to the transaction by referring to words as “the chosen Incoterms rule including the name and place, followed by Incoterms® 2010”. (b) The “point/place” of delivery must be clearly specified within the agreed “name and place of destination”/“port of shipment” as the risks to that point are for the account of the supplier. If a specific point/port is not agreed or is not determined by practice, the supplier may select the point/port at the named place of destination that best suits his/her purpose. (c) The chosen Incoterms rule must be appropriate to the goods, to the means of their transport and, above all, to whether the parties intend to put additional obligations, e.g. the obligation to organise transport or insurance, on the supplier or on the importer. Sewing Thread Proposed Tariff Increase Comment in respect of the proposed increase in customs duty on sewing threads of man-made filaments, whether or not put up for retail sale from free of customs duty to 15% ad valorem, is due by 18 February 2011. Transnet Fuel Pipeline Proposed Rebate Comment in respect of the proposed rebate of the customs duty on goods, entered for home consumption before 31 December 2012, in such times and conditions as the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC) may allow by specific permit, for the installation of fuel pipeline systems used by pipeline operators registered in SA to distribute fuel, is due by 11 March 2011. The application was lodged by Transnet Limited, who offered, amongst other, the following reasons for the application: Transnet Limited has revised the schedule for the construction of the New Multi Product Pipeline (NMPP) 24-inch trunk. The trunk will be completed during the third quarter and will be operational by the last quarter of 2011. The revised schedule has effectively moved the completion date for the construction of the NMPP to 31 December 2012 for most of the assets in the total pipeline system. The delivery dates for the equipment and materials has now been amended to match the revised construction schedule and activities. As such, the revised schedule will now result in goods being imported beyond 31 December 2011.
