is your weekly look at changes in the South African tariff dispensation and amendments to Customs and Excise legislation. This column aims to provide the reader with a summary of the main changes and is not intended to be a comprehensive statement of the law. No liability is accepted for errors or omissions.
Tariff amendments
7 December
(Please note that the South African Harmonised Tariff has three rates
of duty i.e. 'General Rate', 'European Union (EU)
Rate', and 'Southern African
Development Community (SADC) rate'.
The amendments relate
to tariff heading 23.09 i.e. "preparations of a kind used in animal feeding".
Specific provision i.e. 2309.90.65, is made for "feed supplements, containing by mass, 40% or more lysine whether or
not containing antibiotics or added melengestrol acetate" at a general rate of duty of 10%. From the amendment it is evident that tariff subheading 2309.90.50 i.e. "preparations put up as crustacean food", has been removed.
Anti-dumping investigation
- 30 November
A notice in respect of the initiation of a new shipper investigation on United Engineering Manufacturing Company with regard to the anti-dumping duty on stainless steel sinks originating in or imported from Egypt.
Current all stainless steel sinks imported from Egypt under tariff subheading 7324.10 are liable for an anti-dumping duty of 53.1%. Response due by December 26, 2001.
Anti-dumping duty review requiring public comment
A notice was published on 9 November 2001 in respect of the initiation of a review of the anti-dumping duties on picks originating in or imported from India. Response due by 10 December 2001.
A notice was published
on 16 November 2001 in
respect of the proposed withdrawal of the anti-dumping duties on glass micro spheres originating in or imported from Austria, China, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Re sponse due by 18 December 2001
Tariff applications requiring public comment
The proposed amendment of rebate item 317.04, rebate items in terms of 460.17 and refund item 537.00. The amendments are in respect of motor vehicles. Response due by 18 December 2001.
A notice appeared in respect of the proposed increase of the customs duty on polyethylene teraphthalate sheeting, classifiable under tariff subheading 3920.62 at free of duty, to 17% ad valorem. Response due by 4 January 2002.
New duty drawback and refund questionnaires
The Board on Tariffs
and Trade has released the revised drawback and refund questionnaires. The questionnaires require more detailed and substantive information on the imported products, the nature and origin of the products and details in respect of attempts to source inputs domestically rather than importing them.
Amendment to the Rules of the Customs and Excise Act
The substitution of rule 120A.02(b)(iii) of Chapter XIIA of the following '(iii) set forth in Schedule 1 to the Value Added Tax Act, 1991'.
The extent of the change relates to the exemption
of the levy of VAT on
all "commercial goods" imported into South Africa from a Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland (BLNS) country.
Policy and Process - Letters and Directives
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has published a number of policy and process - letters and directives that will be covered in this column in future issues of FTW.
