Sars chips away at illegal imports

At this time last year a loud fanfare greeted the department of trade and industry (DoT&I) boasting about plans to stem the flood of ultra-cheap imports of textiles and fabrics from China and other Asian sources. It trumpeted the success of its clothing and textiles competitiveness programme (CTCP) in helping to grow the sector. At the same time, DoT&I director-general, Lionel October, stated that the CTCP interventions continued to rely heavily on those of SA Revenue Service (Sars) customs in stemming the flow of cheap Asian – predominantly Chinese – imports. The programme, he added, had “breathed new life into the sectors where new decent jobs were being created”. However, Brian Brink of the SA Textile Federation told FTW that the process of stemming the flood of Chinese imports was interminably slow. However, he added, some success – albeit small – had been achieved. He also noted that the department had initiated certain programmes, including the formation of a task team to update records and duties. And Sars, with the interaction of all the industry sector stakeholders, is handling the initiative on illegal imports. According to Brink, the introduction of the reference pricing database, which acts as a trigger to help Customs when a product is cleared or declared below those reference prices, is making slow progress. “For example,” he said, “with Sars questioning undervalued pricing of imports, the retail price of imported blankets has been increased by 80%. The same with T-shirts. “There are still people who are importing at throwaway prices – but they will eventually get nailed.” And, according to Brink, clothing and textiles is one of the sectors which Sars has under special focus. Its risk assessment strategy has also headlined others, including the cigarette, alcoholic beverages and tyre sectors. The Chinese government on its own part has stated that it is fighting sub-standard exports. It has set up “a crack squad of inspectors” that has been detailed to keep an eye on the quality of all consumer goods that are designed for export, according to a release from the diplomatic service. This is in a quest to flush out substandard, counterfeit and fake items that are predominantly destined for African countries. The move will also save the economies of nations that import the goods and help restore the dignity of the Chinese government, said the deputy director-general for the Department of West Asia and African Affairs in the Ministry of Commerce, Cao Jiachang. He added that manufacturers of substandard goods would be blacklisted – and those who export “offensive and highly dangerous goods to unsuspecting customers overseas” are likely to face heavy legal punishments. Highly dangerous exports from China include substandard or fake medicines, powdered milk and electrical appliances. Fake goods come in the form of building materials, cosmetics, soaps, soft drinks, canned foods, motor vehicle or other spare parts, tyres, paints, toys, clothing and textiles, shoes and others. But, while this government initiative tackles sub-standard, fake and dangerous products, it ignores the issue of ultralow- priced exports – often so because of governmentinitiated export subsidies added to the country’s massive economies of scale. This battle is, therefore, left very much to the forces under the command of the DoT&I and Sars customs. INSERT The retail price of imported blankets has been increased by 80%. The same with T-shirts.