NRCS backlog

The end of March deadline

for clearing the backlog at

the National Regulator for

Compulsory Specifications

(NRCS) looks more like hope

than actuality, according

to the Democratic Alliance

(DA) MP and shadow

minister for trade and

industry, Geordin Hill-

Lewis.

This serious delay in

getting letters of authority

(LOAs), proving that

imported goods comply with

SA standards, is costing

import companies dearly.

In a letter to Hill-Lewis, the

NRCS revealed that only

29% of applications were

being processed within 120

days.

“This is much, much worse

than I had first thought,”

Hill-Lewis said.

And he was also told that

the NRCS commitment

was that they would still

eliminate the entire backlog

by end of March.

“Remember,” he told FTW,

“this is already an extension

of the first deadline, which

was November 14, 2016.