The Origin of the Tariff This week I write the column from the beach of a small town in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia, on the Costa de la Luz (‘coast of light’) on the southernmost coast of Spain at the entrance to the Straits of Gibraltar. Today the town is known as one of the world’s most popular destinations for wind sports, particularly windsurfing. The town’s name is Tarifa, after an Arabian by the name of “Tariff Iban Malik”. The town has existed for more than twelve centuries. When the Moors founded the town they prepared the way for a system that is probably the most important element in international trade. As the name suggests it is the tariff. In the days when commerce began to expand from the Mediterranean, a gang of racketeers made Tarifa their headquarters, holding up all merchant ships at the town and levying a charge – a fixed rate – on all merchandise passing in and out of the Straits of Gibraltar. The mariners called this charge a ‘tariff ’ and the word became familiar in England since its vessels formed the majority of the merchant trade of the day. Spirits Rebate – Comment due On 11 June 2015 the South African Revenue Service (Sars) published a notice of the proposed amendment of Part 1D of Schedule No 6 to the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 [Schedule No 6 – Refunds and Rebates of Excise Duties, Fuel Levy and Environmental Levy; Part 1 – Rebates and Refunds of Specific Excise Duties; Section D – Rebates and Refunds of Specific Excise Duties on Spirits and Spirituous Beverages]. The amendment proposes a rebate item for spirits obtained by distilling grape wine or grape marc of an alcoholic strength by volume of 8% volume or higher for use in the manufacture of fortified wine. Comment is due by 25 June 2015. The proposed deletion of Rebate Item 621.13/104.23.03/01.01 – “Spirits obtained by distilling grape wine or grape marc”. The proposed insertion of Rebate Item 621.13/104.21.01/ 01.01 – “Undenatured ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength by volume of 80% volume or higher, obtained by distilling grape wine or grape marc”. The proposed insertion of Rebate Item 621.13/104.23.03/02.01 – “Spirits obtained by distilling grape wine or grape marc”. The extent of Rebate is “full duty”. Readers will recall that on 22 and 29 May 2015 there were two tariff amendments to Part 1D of Schedule No 6. Duty Calls Watch List Comment on the provisional payments (provisional anti-dumping duties) on Portland cement imported from or originating in Pakistan is due by 22 June 2015. Comment on the first batch of draft Customs Duty Rules to the Customs Duty Act, 2014 is due by 19 June 2015.
