The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has amended anti-dumping duty provisions to exclude qualifying imports of certain I- and H-section steel from China and Thailand under specified rebate items.
The amendment was published on September 11 but is retrospective to March 19. It applies to certain I- and H-sections of iron or non-alloy steel classified under tariff subheadings 7216.32 and 7216.33.
Qualifying goods entered under rebate items 460.15/7216.32/01.06 and 460.15/7216.33/01.06 are excluded from anti-dumping duties of 74.98% on imports from China and 20.32% on imports from Thailand.
The amendment does not remove anti-dumping duties from all structural steel imports.
The measure follows recognition by the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC) of the effect of the cessation of long-steel production at ArcelorMittal South Africa’s Newcastle Works on downstream users, said ITAC Communications Manager Thalukanyo Nangammbi.
“ITAC has since initiated a separate investigation into rebate provisions for long-steel products no longer produced locally,” Nangammbi said.
Preliminary findings from the broader investigation are due to be published in the Government Gazette for public comment, he added.
“Urgent implementation would not be practical because interested parties must first be given an opportunity to comment,” Nangammbi said.
Refund position unclear
The retrospective effective date raises questions for importers that may have paid anti-dumping duties on qualifying goods since March 19.
Customs Specialist Clifford Evans cautioned that the amendment should not automatically be interpreted as allowing importers to recover duties already paid on goods cleared for home consumption.
In his view, it would be more directly relevant to consignments not yet cleared, including goods held in bond on which duty has not been paid.
The amendment notice does not indicate whether importers that paid the duties after March 19 may apply for refunds or submit vouchers of correction.
Evans said anti-dumping measures are becoming a growing cost consideration for importers as they increasingly extend beyond raw materials to finished iron and steel products.
“We’ve found that they are now imposing these additional duties on almost finished products. Steel safes, screws, hand tools and garden tools are good examples,” he said.
Evans called for greater transparency in calculating anti-dumping rates. He said this would help importers understand the basis for the duties imposed on their goods.
“We often see the government notice of what has been done but we don’t see the calculation of how those rates of duty were determined,” he said.
He stressed that SARS Customs collects the duties but does not determine applicable products or rates.
