Companies seeking either relief on customs duties in the absence of local suppliers, or their imposition to protect local industry, face an “opaque” process with no clear timetable or information requirements, MacKay says.
MacKay’s company XA Global Trade Advisors has published its first Open Cases Report on the issue. South Africa collects around 55b rand (US$3.3bn) a year in customs duties, and more than 5% of that is tied up in the “cost of indecision,” the report says. The state misses out on collecting R1.25bn in duties that would have been received if higher duties were agreed to and implemented on time, while a further $2bn is collected in duties for goods which are not made locally.
Between 2015 and 2020, the average time for tariff investigations increased to 320 days from 191 days between 2009 and 2014. The report will be updated in coming months with data through to 2022, and
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