Labelling infractions can cost importers dearly

The strong prevailing South African rand in relation to many foreign currencies points to alluring returns for importers of textiles, clothing, shoes and leather products from foreign countries. Importers should, however, tread carefully and approach these potential lucrative markets in a wellinformed manner. The importer must familiarise himself with all the relevant legislative provisions that pertain to the importation of these categories of goods and, more specifically, ensure that its consignments comply with the provisions of, inter alia, the Merchandise Marks Act 17 of 1941 (the “Act”). Failure to comply with the provisions of the Act will lead to the detention of the goods by Customs and can result in enormous costs being incurred. The Act, read with General Notice 657 of 2005, requires that the categories of goods referred to therein must comply with strict labelling requirements. The terms of the Act are rather burdensome, but the Department of Trade and Industry, in collaboration with Customs, has established a working practice whereby no goods will be detained provided that the permanent labels affixed to those goods state, in a conspicuous manner, the following: The country • of origin of the goods • The composition of materials used to manufacture those goods • The wash and care instructions in respect of those goods. Failure by an importer to comply with these labelling requirements will generally result in the goods being detained and the DTI issuing a warning for any first-time offenders. Second-time offenders, however, are likely to be criminally prosecuted. A second-time offender will also find it very difficult to have his goods released from detention pending the finalisation of the criminal prosecution. This means that significant storage and demurrage charges will be incurred which will very quickly dwarf the importer’s expected returns. It is therefore prudent for importers to ensure that they comply with all aspects of the relevant legislative provisions. Interested and affected parties may contact the Department of Trade and Industry or, alternatively, Shepstone & Wylie Attorneys for further assistance.