In the age of the Internet, with enhanced search engine AI functionality, one would expect to find an answer to nearly any question in seconds. We already know that the answer to the “ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything” is 42 – reference The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

What is really challenging and time-consuming to find is Annex B of the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) Agreement. If you were thinking you could find it on the Sacu website or on the South African Revenue Service website, you would be wrong. The two resources that I found were the Revenue Service of Lesotho and the Parliamentary Monitoring Group.

When starting my search, the Sacu Agreement, 2002, was easy enough to find, but Annex B, which the Trade Law Centre references as being on the Sacu website, was missing from that platform.

Annex B relates to the ‘Tariff Board’ and deals with the following items: definitions and interpretations; independence of the board; functions of the board; constitution of the board; the chairperson and deputy; qualifications of members; conduct of members; resignation and removal from office; meetings and decisions of the board; communication, procedures and documentation related to the customs tariff; reporting; staff of the secretariat dedicated to serving the board; finances of the board; reviews; and entry into force.

What do we know about the ‘Tariff Board’ from a Sacu perspective? On its website, it states: “Article 11 of the Sacu Agreement, 2002, makes provision for the establishment of the Tariff Board as an independent institution consisting of experts drawn from the member States. The Tariff Board is responsible for making recommendations to the council on the level and changes of customs, antidumping, countervailing and safeguard duties on goods imported from outside the common customs area, rebates, refunds, or duty drawbacks based on the directives given to it by the council, as provided for in Article 8 of the Sacu Agreement.

“In order to support the Tariff Board, member States are required to establish national bodies responsible for conducting preliminary tariff-related investigations and make recommendations to the Tariff Board. The Tariff Board is not yet operational, and the council has mandated the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) to handle tariff applications on behalf of Sacu on an interim basis. In the meantime, Sacu is exploring options for a suitable tariff setting architecture. The secretariat, through the Tariff Board coordinator, facilitates the consultative processes regarding changes to the common external tariff (CET) and provides support to promote the uniform application of the CET.”

Considering that the Sacu Agreement, 2002, was signed in October 2002 and officially entered into force on July 15, 2004, the question arises: How long is the ‘interim basis’, given that “as an interim arrangement, tariff matters are currently being handled by the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa, as per a decision of the council taken in 2007”?

Is now not the time for Sacu to progress and establish a Sacu Tariff Board? If not, what is the reason for not establishing it? What is the reason or reasons for the hesitation? Does the expertise not reside in the BeLN countries: Botswana, eSwatini, Lesotho and Namibia? Surely, this cannot be true. If South Africa has the skills, why would they be lacking in the BeLN countries?

If I were advising the BeLN countries, I would simply point to the duration of Itac tariff investigations, which far exceed Itac’s own turnaround times specified in its 12-page ‘Tariff Investigations’, which states: The commission carries out its investigations speedily and with rigour. The timelines have been revised to ensure speedy delivery of the instruments. It now takes the commission generally four months for sectors in distress and six months for normal investigations.”

That is but part of the reason for delays, as readers of this column were reminded in the piece published on June 19, titled ‘Where tariff investigations really stall’.

Will 2026 be the year that Sacu establishes its Tariff Board? It seems highly unlikely. If I were advising Sacu, I would urge it to, at the very least, take an interest in the duration of Itac’s tariff investigations and to investigate the impact thereoff.