On 31 March 2023, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) announced the substitution of Rebate Item 460.03/0207.14.9/01.07 in Part 2 of Schedule No 4 (General Rebates of Customs Duties, Fuel Levy and Environmental Levy: Temporary Rebates of Customs Duties) to the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 in order to increase the annual quota for frozen bone-in cuts of the species Gallus Domesticus originating in or imported from the United States of America (USA) from 71 290 tonnes to 7 632 tonnes with retrospective effect from 01 April 2022. The reasoning is contained in the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) Minute M04/2022.
The rebate item, the extent of rebate which is “full anti-dumping duty” reads:
Frozen meat of the species Gallus Domesticus, cut in pieces with bone in and imported from or originating in the United States of America, in such quantities, at such times and subject to such conditions as the International Trade Administration Commission (Itac) may allow by specific permit on recommendation of the Director General: The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), provided that -
(a) With effect from 1 April 2016, permits may be issued by Itac for meat imported in terms of this rebate item;
(b) From the date this rebate item comes into operation up to and including 31 March 2016 meat imported in terms of this rebate item shall be on a first-come-first-served basis;
(c) The meat subject to the provisions of this rebate item may not exceed a basic annual quota of 71 632 metric tonnes;
(d) The annual quota period is 1 April to 31 March;
(e) Prior to 1 April 2016, the quota shall be 16 250 metric tonnes;
(f) As from 1 April 2017 a growth factor as determined by DALRRD is applied to the basic quota annually;
(g) The meat imported in terms of this rebate item may not be removed outside the Republic for consumption in any of the BLNS countries;
(h) The permit is not transferable and may not be used to obtain meat to the benefit of any entity or person not named in the permit issued by Itac;
(i) This rebate item shall be suspended if any benefits that South Africa enjoyed under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) as at 1 November 2015 are suspended, and shall remain suspended for as long as those benefits under Agoa remain suspended; and
(j) This rebate item is suspended in terms of paragraph (i) from the date the Minister of Trade and Industry submits written confirmation to the Minister of Finance that South Africa's benefits under Agoa have been suspended.
Comment: When will Sars now consistently change ‘BLNS’ to ‘BELN’?