Tariff Amendments The South African Revenue Service (Sars) on 07 March 2014 published a notice calling for the insertion of tariff subheadings 7318.16.20 and 7318.16.30 and substitution of tariff subheadings 7318.15.39 and 7318.15.43 to increase the rate of customs duty on certain screws, bolts and nuts. The application lodged by CBC Fasteners (Pty) Ltd took 287 days to complete. The amendment of anti-dumping item 207.01/3920.49/01.06 to exclude specific PVC strips of a thickness of 2 mm and a width not exceeding 20 mm from the existing antidumping duties applicable on PVC rigid, originating in or imported from the People’s Republic of China. The date of imposition is with retrospective effect to 26 October 2007, implying a possible refund. The application lodged by Austro Group Limited took 715 days to complete, or just 2 weeks short of 2 years. Duty Calls of 28 February 2014 advised of the termination of the antidumping duty on coated paper originating in or imported from the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Korea. The provisional payment was imposed on 27 September 2013 up to and including 14 March 2014, and was withdrawn by Sars on 07 March 2014. New TCC Application Process Sars announced on 03 March 2014 that it had introduced an enhanced Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) application process on eFiling and in its branches. This is the first step in its phased implementation of a modernised tax compliance process to be introduced in the first quarter of 2014. A Sars client simply needs to apply online using Sars’ improved online system and collect the certificate at the Sars branch. The client needs to use the holding company’s (legal entity’s) Income Tax reference number. Ideally the applicant should also use the entity’s Value-added Tax (VAT) and Employees' Tax (PAYE) reference numbers. Energon On 06 March 2014 Eskom, which produces about 85% of its electricity from coal, declared its fourth power emergency since November 2013, following a near week of heavy rain. At the time Eskom called on its industrial customers to reduce their load by 10% and on consumers to reduce their electricity use. The petrol price has increased by R1.14c/litre for the year to date, and is set to increase by R0.20c/litre on 02 April 2014, due to the fuel levy imposed in the National Budget. Customs Client Base A client base is defined as the clients that help keep you in business by regularly purchasing your products or services. Ever thought how many export and import clients are registered with Sars or more importantly how many of these are active? According to Sars’ 2012/13 Annual Report for 2012/13 there were 265 497 registered importers and 240 709 registered exporters. According to a Sars presentation, in November 2013, by value, 90% of the declarations of all imports were submitted by 10% or 4 000 traders, and 80% of the declarations of all exports were submitted by 10% or 4 000 traders. This implies, without accounting for any duplication or subsequent registration, that 80 000 clients out of a total of 506 206 or 15.80% were active.
