Make sure you’re HS-ready on January 1

January 1 will see the imposition of new Customs codes in the international harmonised system (HS). This international numeric filing system – used by some 98% of countries around the world – has its product descriptions and codes cleaned up every five years, with out-of-date terms being discarded, and the new being introduced. New products – like i-pads and i-phones – are always being introduced, and the system has to be updated to include the likes of these. The last clean-up was in 2007, and the next is due to be introduced on January 1, 2012. The latest amendments to the code were published internationally by the World Customs Organisation (WCO) in 2009, and the SA Revenue Service (Sars) customs published this amended version locally – with a last date for comments on November 7. FTW was the first to bring this to the industry’s attention, and ongoing queries and updates have been published regularly in Duty Calls and Customs Buzz. From January 1, if the HS code has been changed, you need to use it – or you won’t be able to clear your consignments through customs.