Customs & Excise Highlights

Amendments to the Rules to the Customs & Excise Act, No 91 of 1964 (Act) (certain sections quoted from the SARS website):

1. Draft rules in terms of s58A(5) of the Act were published for public comment for purposes of the intended commencement of anti-forestalling measures.

Duty forestalling means the practice of entering excisable goods for home consumption in quantities exceeding the quantities determined during a period leading up to an anticipated increase in the rate of excise duty, thereby avoiding the payment of the increased rate of duty when that increase becomes effective.

Comments can be submitted to: C&E_legislativecomments@sars.gov.za by 1 November 2019.

2. Amendment to the rules under s38 – Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Unique Consignment Reference (UCR) number.

Amendments to Schedules to the Act (certain sections quoted from the SARS website)

In Schedule 2 to the Act, the deletion of various anti-dumping items under item 215.02 and insertion of new anti-dumping items under item 215.02 in order to amend the applicable tariff headings liable to anti-dumping duty for wire ropes and cables.

The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has published the following notices (certain sections quoted from the notices):

1. Continuation of statutory measure: Registration by abattoirs and exporters of live pigs:

The purpose and aims of this statutory measure are to compel abattoirs slaughtering pigs and exporters of live pigs to register with the levy administrator.

The statutory measure shall come into operation on 1 November 2019 and will expire on 31 October 2022.

2. Continutation of statutory measure and determination of guideline price: Levies relating to pigs:

The levy imposed in terms of this notice shall be –

• paid to the abattoir by the owner at slaughter of such pig and the abattoir will then pay it over to the levy administrator; and
  
  
• payable by the exporter of live pigs at the point of exit and paid over to the levy administrator.

The statutory measure shall come into operation on 1 November 2019 and will expire on 31 October 2022.

3. Procedures for the application, administration and allocation of export quotas under the economic partnership agreement between the European Union and Southern African Development Community for the year 2020:

The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and European Union (EU) was signed by both parties on 10 June 2016 and came into effect on 1 October 2016. The SADC-EU EPA package contains agricultural products to be exported by SA into the EU market under the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) regime. The SADC-EU EPA TRQ package offers SA enhanced market access for certain agricultural products.