Rewrite of Customs Act – don’t hold your breath

ANY SUGGESTION that the
long-awaited rewrite of the
Customs and Excise Act is in
the wings is “pure speculation”,
according to SA Revenue Service
(Sars) spokesman Adrian Lackay.
This followed research by
FTW associate, Riaan de Lange
of Tariff & Trade Intelligence,
which revealed evidence that a
Customs and Excise review bill
might appear before parliament
in October.
“But,” said Lackay, “that’s not
on the cards at the moment.”
If Minister of Finance Trevor
Manuel actually has anything
to say about the issue, he might
include it in his forthcoming
budget speech.
But that’s a big if, according
to Lackay.
The problem with the
current C & E Act is that it was
enacted in 1964. There have
been major political and trading
industry changes since then
– containerisation is just one
of them – and the original Act
was based on a trade policy of
import regulation rather than
the current policy of trade
facilitation.
These “fundamental changes”,
according to Quintus van der
Merwe who heads up the trade
division at Durban-based lawyers
Shepstone & Wylie, have seen
the 1964 Act amended every
year.
“But it’s all taken place in a
bit of a piecemeal fashion,” he
said, “and it still doesn’t detract
from the fact that the basic Act
is too old for the times.”
All these changes make it
exceedingly difficult for the
freight forwarding industry to
remain in compliance with the
Act, according to Gavin Cooper,
MD of Seair Freight.
“The fact that these changes
often come up as only a small
part of a general amendment
to another Act only adds to the
problem for the industry.
“In an amendment of 400
pages, only 50 might refer to the
forwarding industry,” Cooper said.
“And actually finding it may
come as a surprise, and only
give us two or three days to
comment on any amendment
proposals.
“To be in this situation with
such a crucial piece of legislation
for SA’s trade is just not funny.”
FTW also questioned
Charles Speed-Andrews of
Safcor Panalpina, and director
of Customs Affairs for the SA
Association of Freight Forwarders
on the issue.
“We have no update to offer,”
he said.
Attempts for clarification
from Marina van Twisk, who
heads up the Sars legal team
doing the rewrite, were also in
vain.
“I cannot speak to the press,”
she said.