DUTY CALLS

2nd Draft Customs
Duty Rules
The South African Revenue
Service (Sars) on 31 August
released its second draft of the
Customs Duty Rules to the
Customs Duty Act, 2014 for
public comment.
Comment is due by 30
November 2016.
Pneumatic Tyres
On 31 August Sars released its
proposed draft amendment
to Part 4 of Schedule No 6
(Refunds and Rebates of
Excise Duties, Fuel Levy and
Environmental Levy) to Act
1964 through the insertion
of refund items 681.06 and
681.07. Comment is due by
5 September 2016.
The proposed provision
will allow a refund claim
to a licensee of a customs
and excise manufacturing
warehouse, in respect
of new and rethreaded
pneumatic tyres on which an
environmental levy has been
paid and are subsequently
exported by a licensee
of a customs and excise
manufacturing warehouse
through the licensee’s own
distribution centre to a BLNS
(Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia
and Swaziland) country as
defined in rule 54F.01 to the
Act, 1964.
Trade Facilitation
Agreement
The World Trade Organisation
(WTO) announced that
on 24 August Senegal had
ratified the Trade Facilitation
Agreement (TFA), becoming
the 91st WTO member, and
the 11th least developed
country (LDC) to do so. On
30 August 2016 Uruguay
followed suit, as the 92nd.
The TFA will enter into
force once two-thirds of
the WTO membership
has formally ratified the
agreement. Just in case you
were wondering. On 29 July
2016 the WTO had 164
members. So 56.10% of the
WTO members have ratified
the TFA.
In addition to Senegal
and Uruguay, the following
WTO members have ratified
the TFA: Hong Kong China,
Singapore, the United States,
Mauritius, Malaysia, Japan,
Australia, Botswana, Trinidad
and Tobago, the Republic
of Korea, Nicaragua, Niger,
Belize, Switzerland, Chinese
Taipei, China, Liechtenstein,
Lao PDR, New Zealand, Togo,
Thailand, the European Union
(on behalf of its 28 member
states), the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia,
Pakistan, Panama, Guyana,
Côte d’Ivoire, Grenada, Saint
Lucia, Kenya, Myanmar,
Norway, Viet Nam, Brunei,
Ukraine, Zambia, Lesotho,
Georgia, Seychelles, Jamaica,
Mali, Cambodia, Paraguay,
Turkey, Brazil, Macao China,
the United Arab Emirates,
Samoa, India, the Russian
Federation, Montenegro,
Albania, Kazakhstan,
Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and
Nevis, Madagascar, the
Republic of Moldova, El
Salvador, Honduras, Mexico,
Peru, Saudi Arabia and
Afghanistan.
South Africa has yet to do
so.
WTO, WHO and WIPO
On 29 August the WTO
announced that it and the
World Health Organisation
(WHO) and the World
Intellectual Property
Organisation (WIPO) would,
on 25 October 2016, convene
a symposium to share views
on possible ways forward with
respect to the global challenge
of antimicrobial resistance
and the use of of antibiotics,
access and innovation.
Duty Calls Watch List
Comment is due by 23
September on: (i) the
reduction in the “general”
rate of customs duty on
compound containing
an unfused triazine ring
(whether or not hydrogenated)
instructure: Atrazine; (ii)
the creation of a rebate
item for the manufacture of
electric blankets; and (iii)
the amendment of rebate
Item 320.01 through the
inclusion of goods used in
the manufacture of furniture
products.