Registration Rebate Item – Gautrain Rail A letter issued by the South African Revenue Service (Sars) advises interested parties of the “Registration under Rebate Item 460.26 – Gautrain Rapid Rail Link Project”. According to Sars, importers participating in the Gautrain project in terms of Rebate Item 460.26 are experiencing uncertainty with respect to the registration with Sars for the provisions of the Rebate Item. The rules, initially published by the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac), required importers to be registered with Sars. However, Sars agreed with Itac that since the registration was never the intention, the registration in terms of Rebate Item 460.26 is no longer a requirement. Itac will therefore be publishing its Revised Guidelines. Trade Remedy Application – Drawn Glass A notice has been published in respect of the initiation of the Sunset Review of the anti-dumping duties on clear drawn and float glass originating in or imported from the People's Republic of China (China) and India. On 22 August 2008 Itac notified all interested parties that unless a duly substantiated request was made by or on behalf of the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) industry indicating that the expiry of the anti-dumping duties against the import of clear drawn and float glass originating in or imported from China and India would likely lead to the continuation or recurrence of dumping and injury, the anti-dumping duties on clear drawn and float glass originating in or imported from China and India would expire on 04 November 2009. A response to the sunset review application questionnaire was received from PFG Building Glass (Pty) Ltd on 21 April 2009. All interested parties have until 28 September 2009 to provide Itac with its completed Importer’s or Exporter’s Questionnaire. Trade Remedy Application – Garlic A notice was published in respect of the initiation of an Interim Review investigation of the anti-dumping duty on fresh or chilled garlic, originating in or imported from China. According to the notice Itac received an application for an Interim Review of the anti-dumping duty on fresh or chilled garlic originating in or imported from China as a result of changed circumstances in respect of dumping and material injury since the last review. The application was lodged by the South African Garlic Growers’ Association (SAGGA), which is the farmer's representative organisation for fresh or chilled garlic in the Sacu. All interested parties have until 28 September 2009 to provide Itac with its completed Importer’s or Exporter’s Questionnaire. Customs General Refund Errors Guide for July 2009 In an effort to reduce the high refund rejection rate, Sars has decided to produce a monthly guide to inform its external stakeholders of the reasons why the refund/drawback applications are rejected by Sars and the implications this will have on the turnaround time. According to Sars the turnaround time for processing refund claims is five weeks from the date of receipt by a Sars branch office. The Sars Commissioner no longer has discretionary powers to consider “exceptional circumstances” in the event of late submissions of refund or drawback applications or applications that expire due to the negligence of the client. The current rejection rate is 11.43%.
