On August 8, the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) informed of the conclusion of the investigation into the alleged dumping of frozen potato chips, classifiable under tariff subheading 2004.10.20, originating in or imported from Belgium and the Netherlands. You may recall that, on July 25, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) imposed a safeguard duty on frozen potato chips, which is to remain in force for two years, but will be at a reduced rate during the second year.

In the antidumping investigation, Itac recommended that the Minister of Trade and Industry impose definitive antidumping duties. The Minister decided to suspend the imposition of the antidumping duties until the termination of the safeguard duty on frozen potato chips.

To my knowledge, this is the first time, domestically or internationally, that consecutive remedies have been applied.

Wire Ropes and Cables Sunset Review
On August 8, Sars imposed definite antidumping duties on wire ropes and cables of a diameter exceeding 32 mm, classifiable under tariff subheading 7312.10, originating in or imported from Germany and the UK, and on stranded wire of a diameter exceeding or equal to 12.7 mm, classifiable under tariff subheading 7312.10, originating in or imported from the People’s Republic of China.

Plastic Bag Tariff
On August 11, Sars published draft notices proposing amendments in relation to plastic bags in Part 1 (ordinary customs duty) and Part 3A (environmental levy) of Schedule No 1 of the Customs and Excise Act (Act).

According to Sars, these drafts propose to amend the scope of plastic carrier bags and plastic flat bags subject to environmental levy by including bags made from any thermoplastics material and to remove the current printing requirements.

The draft tariff amendments for Part 1 of the Act propose to delete tariff subheadings 3923.21.05, 3923.21.15, 3923.29.05 and 3923.29.15 and to insert tariff subheadings 3923.21.07, 3923.21.17, 3923.29.40 and 3929.29.50. The draft tariff amendments for Part 3A of the Act propose to delete item numbers 147.01.01, 147.01.03, 147.01.05 and 147.01.07 and to insert item numbers 147.01.01, 147.01.03, 147.01.05 and 147.01.07. These tariff amendments are proposed as a result of the amendment of plastic carrier bags and plastic flat bags (VC-8087 of 2013), published by the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications in Government Gazette No 35707, on September 28, 2012, with the effective date being March 6.
Comment is due by August 25.

Customs Control Bill
On August 4, Sars published what it called “the second batch” of draft rules proposed under chapters 11 to 20 and Chapter 24 of the Customs Control Act, 2014 (Act No 31 of 2014). The chapter descriptions are Chapter 11, transhipment procedure; Chapter 12, temporary admission procedure; Chapter 13, warehousing procedure; Chapter 14, tax-free shop procedure; Chapter 15, stores procedure; Chapter 16, export procedure; Chapter 17, temporary export procedure; Chapter 18, inward processing procedure; Chapter 19, home-use processing procedure; Chapter 20, outward processing procedure; and Chapter 24, expedited clearance and release of goods. Comments should be submitted on a comment sheet template by no later than September 26.

Cheque Payment Limit
On August 8, Sars informed of the replacement of Rule 120.12 of the Customs and Excise Act with the following: “120.12 (a) No payment by cheque in excess of R50 000, including any payment relating to value-added tax on imported goods as contemplated in the Value-Added Tax Act, 1991 (Act No 89 of 1991), may be made unless the commissioner, having regard to the circumstances, directs otherwise. (b) For the purposes of paragraph (a), the total payments by cheque by any person on any day may not exceed R50 000 for any number of payments required to be made on that day. (c) No payments may be made by cheque if any person has, in the preceding three years, made two payments by cheque to Sars that were ‘referred to drawer’. (d) The payment made by cheque must be supported by a Sars payment advice notice that is not older than seven days from the date of the notice.”

WTO Releases 2013 Trade Statistics
On August 5, the World Trade Organisation updated its statistics database, which now includes trade statistics for 2013 on global exports and imports of merchandise and on trade in commercial services. The statistics are available by country, region and commodity or service.

SEZ Advisory Board Nominations
The Minister of Trade and Industry has extended an invitation for invested persons to serve on the Special Economic Zones advisory board. The establishment of the board is in accordance with Section 7 of the Special Economic Zones Act, assented to by the President on the May 19.

Applications and nominations should be submitted to the Minister by September 12.

Customs and Excise Course
This certificate course in customs and excise taxes, to be presented by the University of Pretoria, offers an opportunity for individuals with prior formal education or experience in taxation to acquire a basic knowledge of customs and excise taxes in a South African context. This course is aimed at tax professionals, entrepreneurs and public-sector employees embarking on import and/or export activities.

After successful completion of the programme, candidates will understand the economic and legal environment within which customs and excise policy operates; be able to provide an overview of import, export and excise processes; understand the impact of customs and excise taxes on business transactions; understand how the classification, origin and valuation of goods may impact on the costs of a business transaction; and be able to formulate proposals to manage costs attributable to customs and excise taxes; perform a basic calculation to determine customs and excise taxes in a practical scenario and identify compliance risk areas relating to customs and excise taxes.

The following topics will be covered: the international customs and excise environment; the South African customs and excise environment; the import and export processes; customs and excise taxes as a cost component; an overview of the key pillars of customs and excise taxes, namely classification, valuation and origin; and managing the risks relating to customs and excise taxes.