Interesting changes to Harmonised System

Tariff classification of imported, exported and locally produced goods remains a complex and often contentious process. Well, guess what? The Harmonised System has just been shaken up again! The fourth major revision of the Harmonised System (HS) since its approval by the Customs Co-operation Council in 1983 was implemented on 1 January 2012. We highly recommend that all those responsible for tariff classification spend more than a few moments scrutinising the changes. Besides numerous changes to sub-headings, some interesting changes include the re-classification of the following goods into new headings:  Smoked crustaceans  Mercury compounds, not chemically defined  Interleukins, interferons, chemokines and certain tumor necrosis factors, growth factors, hematopoietins and colony stimulating factors  Biodiesel Further to reclassifying goods, new tariff headings have been created for the following products:  Passenger boarding bridges  Sanitary towels (pads) and tampons, napkins and napkin liners for babies and similar articles, of any material The revision also includes changes to certain industrial and general rebates e.g. the industrial rebate item for the manufacture of goods classifiable under heading 94.04 has changed. These changes require importers, agents and other service providers to update their product libraries and amend their rebate registrations with Sars where necessary. So, a busy start to the year indeed. We wish all of you a prosperous and exciting 2012!