Container Depot –
Comment due
On 5 June the South
African Revenue Service
(Sars) called for comment
on its proposed draft
rules to the Customs and
Excise Act, 1964. The rules
propose the substitution
of item 200.08 of the
schedule to the rules to the
Act adding Saldanha Bay
and Richards Bay to places
where container depots
may be established.
With their inclusion,
the places where container
depots may be established
would now be Cape Town,
Durban, East London,
Germiston, Johannesburg,
Port Elizabeth, Pretoria,
Saldanha Bay and Richards
Bay.
Comment is due by 20
June.
Border Management
Authority Bill
News24 on 8 June
reported that the Border
Management Authority bill
had ‘finally’ been passed.
It reported that the ruling
party finally had enough
members in the National
Assembly to pass the bill.
It is understood that the
bill will now be referred
to the National Council of
Provinces for concurrence.
You will recall that the
Bill seeks to establish
one centralised authority
to handle all matters
involving South Africa’s
ports of entry, including
policing and Customs.
‘The Power of Data’
From 7-9 June the World
Trade Organisation (WCO)
hosted its 2017 information
technology (IT) conference
and exhibition in Tbilisi,
Georgia under the theme
“The Power of Data”.
It covered highly
topical strategic issues
and operational IT border
management solutions
while addressing the role
of data in their application.
The WCO secretary
general stressed that in
parallel to the ongoing
discussions on the impact
of the tremendous growth
of e-commerce, Customs
administrations and the
WCO were examining
ways of dealing with the
practical aspects and of
providing operational
solutions to improve service
delivery and facilitate
business-to-business (B2B)
and B2C e-commerce in
particular.
South Africa’s
economic recession
On 6 June National
Treasury released a media
statement in response to
the South African economy
entering a recession. It
follows the announcement
that South Africa’s gross
domestic product (GDP)
contracted 0.7% in the first
quarter of 2017, which is
particularly concerning in
comparison to the 1.3%
estimated in the 2017
Budget Review.
According to National
Treasury, despite the
contraction, there are green
shoots that South Africa
can leverage to boost its
own economic growth
outlook. These include: (i)
improving global growth,
(ii) stabilising commodity
prices, (iii) more favourable
climate conditions, (iv)
reliable electricity supply,
and (v) less volatile labour
relations. [The concern
is that the majority of
these fall outside of South
Africa’s control.]
The media release
concludes that the finance
minister will be seeking
a meeting with business
leaders soon to discuss
ways of working together to
achieve inclusive economic
growth.
Duty Calls Watch List
Sars on 2 June announced
the draft rules to the
Customs Duty Act, 2014
in Part 2 of Chapter 3, on
which comment is due by
31 July.
Comment on the
proposed increase in the
“general” rate of customs
duty on biaxially oriented
propylene polymers is due
by 16 June.
Duty Calls
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