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FREIGHT & TRADING WEEKLY
For import / export decision-makers FRIDAY 24 March 2017 NO. 2239
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Cross-border road user charges to be re-examined
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Major delays in the release of a groupage container detained by border police on suspicion that one of the consignments contained counterfeit goods has raised industry hackles and left honest importers out of pocket.
The less than container load (LCL) shipment, carried by Pacific International Lines (PIL), arrived in
Durban from Hong Kong on February 19 this year, with the container earmarked for inspection on February 23.
At time of writing, the container had still not been released.
The clearing agency involved raised the issue with FTW on behalf of one of its clients, Organico Distributors, who was one of 12 cargo owners whose goods had been detained, despite only one consignment – not
owned by Organico – being flagged as “suspicious”.
Organico’s consignment contained cycle lights worth US$45 000, director Charl du Plessis told FTW.
“After several delays – with no clear reason given for the delays – we were informed that the whole container had been detained and that our goods would only be released once the investigation had been completed,” he explained, adding that no
timelines for release had been provided.
Currently the importer, the groupage operator and the clearing agent are still trying to get the consignment released and are receiving no joy.
Du Plessis meanwhile has lost out on huge revenue opportunities – he was to sell his cycle lights at the Cape Town Cycle Race expo earlier this month – and continues to incur
expensive storage costs. The groupage operator
who handled Du Plessis’ LCL consignment estimated the storage costs to be over R100 000 by now. “It is around R30 000 per week per twenty foot container,” said Afristar Freight Services’ MD, Michael Ryan.
He told FTW that while the carrier was still in control of the LCL shipment – it
Detained LCL container leaves legitimate importers out of pocket
A new off-the-grid home built out of two second-hand high-cube 12-metre containers has taken environmentally friendly living to a new level.
Built by Johannesburg-based Architecture for a Change (A4AC), the 14 000-sqm “Cliff House” in Northcliff Johannesburg uses solar panels for electricity while borehole water is drawn onsite. Recycled plastic bottles and wine bottle corks
were used for insulation and flooring.
A4AC architect Dirk Coetser told FTW that it was almost R3 000 cheaper per square metre to build with containers compared to conventional brick-and-mortar houses of the same size.
The company is currently working with First National Bank on pop-up ATMs in rural areas.
Reused containers with a difference
To page 8
2 | FRIDAY March 24 2017
FREIGHT & TRADING WEEKLY
Publisher Anton Marsh
EditorialEditor Joy OrlekConsulting Editor Alan PeatAssistant Editor Liesl VenterDeputy Editor Adele MackenzieEditorial Assistant Nicole JacobsPhotographer Shannon Van Zyl
CorrespondentsAfrica/ Port Elizabeth Ed Richardson Tel: (041) 582 3750Swaziland James Hall
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DUTY CALLS Riaan de Lange ([email protected])
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Dairy WTO Bound RatesThe International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) on 17 March announced its second Customs tariff application for 2017, on which comment is due by 14 April.
It relates to the proposed Customs duty rates adjustment of certain dairy products to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) bound rates, or as the notice states, to the “bound ceiling rates”.
In the first instance, the introduction of two 8-digit tariff subheadings under tariff heading 04.05 “Butter and other fats and oils derived from milk; dairy spreads:”, and tariff subheading 0405.20 “Dairy spreads:” namely “0405.20.** With a milk fat content of 39% or more but less than 75%” – with rates of Customs duty of 500c/kg with a maximum of 37%, with the exception of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) which is free; and “0405.20.** Other” – rates of Customs duty of
500c/kg with a maximum of 79%, with the exception of SADC which is free.
In the second instance, the adjustment of two tariff subheadings from the applied rate to the WTO bound rates. For both, the applied rates are 15% ad valorem and the bound rates 12% ad valorem. It relates to tariff subheading 3301.90.20 “Extracted oleoresins obtained from extraction of opium”, and tariff subheading 3301.90.30 “Extracted oleoresins obtained from extraction of liquorice”.
The application was lodged by The Department of Trade and Industry’s International Trade and Economic Development (ITED) division who reasoned that in light of the previous periodic reviews and changes to the Harmonised System (HS) by the Committee of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and in terms of South Africa’s WTO obligations, it is imperative that South Africa complies with its market
access commitments to the WTO and the provisions of its multilateral trade agreements. This is particularly relevant where South Africa is exceeding its WTO bound rate commitments.
This begs the question, which other tariff subheadings are in excess of South Africa’s WTO bound rate commitments?
Plastic Tariff AmendmentsOn 17 March the South African Revenue Service (Sars) announced the insertion, deletion and substitution of various tariff subheadings under tariff headings 39.07 to align the 8-digit tariff subheading structure for Poly (ethylene terephthalate) with HS 2017.
Plastic Dumping Duty AmendmentsSars on 17 March announced the deletion and insertion of various tariff subheadings as a consequence of the changes made under tariff heading 39.07 with HS 2017.
WCO E-Commerce ReportThe WCO has published its ‘Study Report on E-Commerce’ – undertaken as part of the WCO Work Plan on Cross-Border E-Commerce – which is based on a short survey of its members. It compiled Customs administrations’ practices as well as their ongoing and future initiatives relating to the processing of cross-border low-value e-commerce.
Duty Calls’ Watch ListComment on South Africa’s WTO technical barriers to trade (TBT) notification on bananas is due by 16 April, and comment on National Treasury and Sars ‘Review of the Diesel Fuel Tax Refund System’ by 15 May.
These statements have been edited because of space constraints. For the full versions go to ftwonline.co.za. Note: This is a non-comprehensive statement of the law. No liability can be accepted for errors and omissions.
Online
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Transnet is setting up Transnet International Holdings (TIH) – a new subsidiary to operate port, rail and pipeline infrastructure in Africa and the Middle East.
Its target is to earn 25% of its income from outside SA by 2025.
While Transnet’s current overborder activities are mostly rail services in other states in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), it intends to offer port and pipeline services, as well as targeting rail contracts elsewhere in the continent. It is also aiming at Transnet Engineering marketing engines and rolling stock across the continent.
Transnet has already signed five interport agreements with Ghana Ports Authority, Namport, Maputo, Kenya Ports Authority and Port Corporation of Sudan.
It has also signed a pipelines memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Botswana Oil, to cooperate on oil and gas initiatives in Botswana.
It’s all part of developing what Transnet spokesman Molatwane Likhethe described as the company’s “diversification strategy”. And it planned to establish TIH as a special purpose vehicle to execute its geographic expansion strategy.
“Under the approved Africa strategy,” Likhethe added, “Transnet has a long-term vision to create an integrated freight system in the region.
“Initially our focus will be on opportunities in East
and West Africa, specifically looking at port and rail opportunities to provide connectivity to coastal and hinterland countries within our target areas.”
According to press reports, most of the work is likely
to involve training and consultancy contracts, but it could also bid for operating concessions.
However, Likhethe described the scope of opportunities under consideration as “very broad” – ranging
from advisory work through to design, build, operate and transfer concessions in the logistics space.
Transnet was also seeking to improve operational skills
on the continent by creating spaces for African students in its various technical schools.
“Our efforts thus far have seen a significant improvement in cross-border rail volumes and participation in regional ports,” Likhethe said.
“For example, we have entered into a five-year management contract with Sobemap, the state-owned port operator in Cotonou, Benin.”
Through this contract, Transnet has deployed full-time resources to assist with upgrades to their container yard; implementation of a dedicated terminal-operating system; and providing training to the Beninese workforce.
“This underlines our commitment to the development of not only infrastructure but also building of capacity,” said Likhethe, “thereby creating a sustainable workforce for the medium to long term.”
Transnet spells out international diversification strategy
Initially, our focus will be on opportunities in East and West Africa, specifically looking at port and rail opportunities.– Molatwane Likhethe
“
Rwanda’s economy grew by 5.9% in 2016, with gross domestic product at current prices estimated at RF6 618 billion (R102 300 million), up from RF5 956 billion in 2015.
However, the growth fell just short of the 6.0% projected by the country’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, as well as that of the International Monetary Fund.
The growth was also slower compared to 6.9% registered in 2015, Rwanda’s daily New Times reported recently.
The director-general of the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR), Yusuf Murangwa, reported that the failure to meet the projected performance was a result of the agriculture sector performing poorly due to prolonged drought and floods in some parts of the country.
Conversely, the main drivers for growth in 2016 were the industry and service sectors which both grew by 7%. – African New Agency (ANA)
Rwandan growth falls short
4 | FRIDAY March 24 2017
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Tristan Wiggill
Road freight operators have urged the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (CBRTA) to reduce the cost of permit fees which, along with border delays and corruption, are “killing the industry.”
This emerged at a breakfast session in Pretoria last week which afforded road freight operators the opportunity to engage with the Deputy Minister of Transport, Sindisiwe Chikunga, as well as with board members and management of the CBRTA.
Regional transport operators continue to have a strained relationship with the CBRTA, with the agency’s own research suggesting operators are not convinced of its worth and value.
Freight operators say numerous issues are not being resolved, and they take issue with the general attitude of SA Revenue Service, Customs
and immigration staff. But the biggest issue they have relates to the justification of the fees paid on cross-border permits.
Around 80% of CBRTA’s income is derived from permit fees. The remainder comes from penalty fees issued by the Road Transport Inspectorate (RTI) – one of the biggest cost components within the CBRTA.
The RTI, however, is to be reassigned to the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC).
“The benefit of this cost reduction strategy will not be felt immediately, as transitional measures have been agreed to,” said Sipho Khumalo, CEO of the CBRTA.
“The RTMC cannot be saddled with extra costs not budgeted for or which it is unable to absorb. The move will be coordinated in a phase-out, phase-in arrangement, taking three to four years to conclude,” he
indicated.Khumalo
explained that the permit fee was congruent with the level of administration required by the CBRTA to execute its duties, pay staff and engage with industry and
other stakeholders.He said there was a case for
the CBRTA to explore other revenue streams to reduce the impact of the permit fee.
“We are relooking road-user charges because countries in
the SADC region charge South African operators for the use of their roads and we don’t,” he said.
In 2005, South Africa decided not to enforce road-user charges for foreign vehicles entering the country due to low traffic volumes. Simply, the cost of collecting the fees would have outweighed the revenue derived from doing so.
However, that dynamic has changed considerably over the past 12 years. Several South African companies have even set up satellite branches in neighbouring countries to avoid these road user charges.
“It’s time to revisit the policy. We are consulting with Sanral on the matter,” Khumalo said, before explaining that economic impact studies would have to be carried out, since road-user reciprocation could not simply mean adding costs to the region’s supply chain.
Cross-border road user charges to be re-examined
Countries in the SADC region charge South African operators for the use of their roads and we don’t.– Sipho Khumalo
“
The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) believes the first default judgement in its favour by the High Court last week sets a precedent for companies who do not pay e-tolls to be taken to court.
“It also means that the proof of the default submitted by Sanral was accepted by the court,” said Sanral spokesperson, Vusi Mona.
In last week’s ruling, a fleet owner was ordered to pay Sanral R436 407.75 plus interest at a rate of 10.25% for outstanding fees.
Sanral’s successful application for a default judgment comes ahead of a test case between it and the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa).
However, Outa chairperson Wayne Duvenage said the default judgment was “insignificant” and that those who chose to defend themselves in court against Sanral had nothing to worry about.
E-toll default precedent?
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An innovative strategy to divert perishable cargo from Durban to the country’s Western and Eastern Cape ports could be the catalyst for a significant modal shift from road to rail transport.
Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA SA) logistics development manager, Mitchell Brooke, told delegates at a business breakfast on Transnet Freight Rail’s road to rail strategy hosted by FTW and the JCCI recently that the Durban Container Terminal was over-utilised compared to other ports and terminals in South Africa.
“There is huge scope for Transnet in the fruit sector, with around 35 000 containers/R400 million in additional revenue at stake,” he said, “and South Africa needs to create a fully utilised, bi-directional intermodal reefer hub-to-hub service for all refrigerated commodities.”
Brooke said South Africa had a different set of logistics parameters between the northern and southern areas of the country and needed to look at implementing hubs in Kakamas, Polokwane, Johannesburg, Pretoria, and in the Ceres and Sundays River areas, where hubs based on SEZ policies could attract more
perishable product onto trains.
He explained that
a shift to the Cape provinces could save seven days of transit time, as vessels that called on Durban also called on Port Elizabeth and Cape Town before leaving for Europe. Similarly, one could save seven days by using rail from Cape Town to Gauteng, instead of going to Durban before trucking goods up the N3.
Containers that were not plugged in were sitting outside the Durban container terminal for long periods of time, which caused massive cold chain quality issues and many were aware of the issues with getting containers out of the country’s busiest port, he said.
Brooke pointed out that two ships left Cape Town every week for Europe. From there, the fruit industry could penetrate the entire European market as well as Scandinavia and Russia by using the vessels.
A substantial number of refrigerated containers came into the country’s
ports too, which were being de-stuffed in Durban
and Cape Town before
refrigerated trucks moved them to Gauteng and other inland areas.
“Those containers should come back onto the train and be moved to inland areas for de-stuffing. The containers could then be available to move export commodities out from the inland areas back to the ports,” he added.
Current costing in the fruit industry is based on moving containers in one direction. “We are bringing empty containers up from the ports to pack inland and returning them to port which means the cost is recovered on fruit exports for both directions. We’ve got to look at a trade-off and bring other commodities into the picture,” he said.
Fruit South Africa’s rail transport strategy has been developed to create a sustainable and efficient transport link, which considers that the country has had to develop a cost-
effective and efficient means of transporting perishable goods from place of production to place of consumption.
“We’ve got to see a proper pricing policy to support the industry, maybe over a five-year period, to
drag fruit back onto rail. We also need to have the infrastructure in place, in the right areas, to capture the markets and the entire region’s fruit production,” he said.
Perishable industry proposes hub strategy to grow rail business
A shift to the Cape provinces could save seven days of transit time as vessels that call on Durban also call on PE and Cape Town before leaving for Europe.– Mitchell Brooke
“
The comprehensive draft maritime transport policy (CMTP), the government’s dreams for the future of the so-called ‘blue economy’, appears to have met with a rather tepid response from the freight industry.
According to Malcolm Hartwell, director of Norton Rose Fulbright SA, a recent Durban public presentation was attended by two lawyers, a representative from the SA Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff) and three representatives from a shipping electronics company.
“The lack of enthusiasm,” he told FTW, “perhaps
arises from the fact that, like any policy document, the CMTP is relatively short on details of implementation. These details are to be fleshed out by the relevant government departments and agencies responsible for implementation.”
Fellow Norton Rose director, Andrew Robinson, took an even more cynical viewpoint of this latest issue of the policy.
“It is certainly consistent,” he said. “The same mistakes made in 1996 were made again in 2008 and now yet again in 2017 – with a slight tweak to take into account Operation Phakisa and the National
Development Programme (NDP).”
But both agree that the basic bones of the CMTP make it an important document.
“It echoes the emphasis on infrastructure development found in Operation Phakisa (OP) as being critical for the development of the maritime industry,” said Hartwell. With our dire unemployment problem the CMTP’s constant reference to training and development to foster employment is also to be welcomed.”
The specific targets highlighted by the CMTP, some of which are derived from OP,
are: the bunkering industry; offshore oil and gas industry; cabotage; and the growth of the SA merchant fleet.
“The CMPT recognises that these industries are all suffering from the global economic crisis and, in certain cases, low energy prices,” Hartwell added. “It also recognises that for a cabotage regime to succeed, decisions will have to be made to support the industry financially.
“Accordingly, the first steps towards a cabotage regime are only scheduled to take place in five years’ time.”
He also noted an admission in this latest policy document.
“The CMTP also acknowledges that SA’s attempts to re-establish an SA merchant fleet have run into a few tax hurdles – and these will need to be addressed.”
While welcoming the fact that the CMTP covers the full range of maritime policy issues, and commits the state to realising the benefits of a blue economy, Hartwell suggested that how this was put into practice was the crucial factor.
“The real test of its value will lie in the details and the various government entities’ commitment to, and capacity for, implementation,” he said.– Alan Peat
Draft maritime policy focuses on infrastructure, training
FRIDAY March 24 2017 | 7
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ABJ - AbidjanABU - Abu DhabiANT - Antwerp, Belgium BAR - BarcelonaBRH - B’HavenCAS - CasablancaCON - ConakryDAK - Dakar DAM - Damman, Saudi ArabiaDAR - Dar Es SalaamDBN - Durban DES - Dar es Salaam DOH - Doha, QatarELS - East London, SAGUN - Gunsan, KoreaHAM - Hambantota, Sri LankaHAR - Le Harve, France HUA - Huangpu, ChinaIMM - ImminghamJEB - Jebel Ali JED - Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaJPN - Japan
KIS - Kisarazu, Japan KOB - Kobe, JapanKOR - KoreaKUW - KuwaitKWA - Kwanngyang, KoreaLAS - Las Palmas LAG - Lagos LIB - Libreville LOB - Lobito, Angola LUA - Luanda MAP - Maputo MAS - MasanMEL - Melbourne, Australia MDV - Montevideo MOM - Mombasa NAG - Nagoya PDG - Pointe des GaletsPE - Port Elizabeth, SA PKG - Port Kelang POI - Pointe Noire, CongoPOR - PortugalPYU - Pyaungtaek, Korea
QNG - QingdaoREC - Recife, BrazilROT - Rotterdam SAL - Salvadore, BrazilSAN - SantosSAV - Savannah, GA SHA - Shanghai China SNR - Sheerness, UKSIN - Singapore SOH - Sohar, OmanSOU - Southhammpton, UKSRI - Sri Lanka TAM - Tamatave TEA - Tema, GhanaTIL - Tilbury, UK ULS - Ulsan, KoreaVIT - Vitoria, BrazilWVS - Walvis Bay, NamibiaYAN - Yangon, Myanmar YOK - Yokohama XIN - Xingang, ChinaZAR - Zarate
VESSEL VOY JPN SHA SIN DBN SAN MDV ZAR VIT ABJ TEA BRHDONG-A-METIS 010 06/03 16/03 22/03 04/04 14/04 18/04 19/04 26/04 04/05 06/05 18/05
EUKOR - FAR EAST / SOUTH AMERICA / EUROPE
EUKOR - FAR EAST / AFRICA
EUKOR - EUROPE / SA / EAST AFRICA
VESSEL VOY XIN JPN SIN MOM DAR DBN LOB LUA TEA DAK ANTTREASURE 022 - sld 06/03 18/03 21/03 25/03 01/04 03/04 07/04 12/04 tba
VESSEL VOY BRH ANT IMM TIL PE DAR MOM TAM SIN PYU T/S to all destinations
from PyungtaekMORNING COMPASS 037 sld sld sld sld 25/03 31/03 01/04 06/04 15/04 22/04
Anyone travelling to Namibia on business is advised to ensure they have a business visa – even if the purpose is a single meeting.
That’s the advice from FTW Africa correspondent Ed Richardson whose annual fact-finding trip to Namibia was cut short by a customs officer at Walvis Bay airport.
Ahead of the business trip, the FTW team was advised that visas were not necessary if one was attending meetings.
In May last year it was announced that South African passport holders
visiting Namibia for conference and meetings purposes no longer required a visa.
In fact colleague Yolande Langenhoven was allowed through without restrictions even though she was standing at a customs counter next to Ed and confirmed that they were travelling together.
It is not only customs officials who interpret the visa requirements differently.
There is no consistency on the various government and business websites as to when a business visa is required.
Reactions in Namibia were mixed, with stories of people being locked up for a night when trying to exit the border after their business visa had expired.
Others – as seemed to have happened at Walvis Bay to a training facilitator – are sent back on the next plane.
Attempts to obtain a visa while in Namibia failed despite support from a government-funded organisation which has links to Home Affairs.
Requirements for a business visa can be found on http://www.mha.gov.na/visas
Liesl Venter
Property and land issues must be addressed sooner rather than later in Africa because uncertainty is bad news for future investment.
According to Dr Nigel Chanakira, non-executive chairman of the Zimbabwe Investment Authority (ZIA), there is no denying the long-term negative impact when the rules of the game are just changed.
“When licences are terminated or not renewed for any apparent reason it creates uncertainty. It spooks people when you violate property rights,” he said. “These types of actions have very real impact on foreign investment in countries. If governments need to expropriate land there has to be prompt and adequate compensation. We have to find that midway in Africa where we are doing what is best for the people but not at the same time scaring
investors away.”He said at the same time
there was a need to guard against fronting.
“We need to create stable environments where investors have certainty – be it over land rights or operating licences,” he said.
In his view it is also important that business in Africa becomes far more involved and vocal about what they want to see on the continent.
“If we don’t want a political talk show then we as business have to get involved and let our voices be heard. We must be part of the dicussions. Business needs to consistently lobby governments.”
He said the private sector could not afford to sit on the sidelines any more and needed to increase their involvement.
“We need to speak up about what we want, what we need and how we see it happening.”
He said far too often the
power of the private sector was underestimated.
“In Zimbabwe the private sector proved that they had a powerful voice when they successfully lobbied for 40% of the content for an infrastructure project that will see a ring road created around Harare to go to local suppliers.”
He said it was now time for the local players to prove that they could do the task at hand and had the capability to deliver.
“There have been some major lessons in Zimbabwe that many countries can learn from. One of the most important lessons I believe is that each stakeholder needs to do their part. It is the business of government to set policy and create environments that are conducive to business. Governments should not be in the business of running business. The private sector must do that. That is how we grow our economies.”
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A voice of reason from a Zimbabwe businessman
Namibia business visa clampdown cuts short FTW journo's visit
Last week’s top stories on
SAPS arrests insider for OR Tambo heistOne of the South African Police Service’s own was among the four people taken in for questioning in connection with last week’s multi-million dollar foreign currency heist at OR Tambo International Airport (Ortia).
R48 million earmarked to fight cross-border crimeThe KwaZulu-Natal provincial government has set aside R48 million to fight cross-border crime.
World’s most valuable logistics brands namedWith a brand value of US$22 billion, United Parcel Service (UPS) is the most valuable, as well as the most powerful, logistics brand in 2017, according to the latest top 25 list compiled by global strategy consultancy, Brand Finance.
European Commission reinstates cartel decisionThe European Commission has re-adopted a cartel decision against 11 air cargo carriers and imposed
a fine totalling ¤ 776 465 000 for operating a price–fixing cartel.
Somali piracy – security experts say ‘told you so’News that Somali pirates have hijacked an oil tanker has been met with comments of “we told you so” from maritime safety experts.
MOL Triumph – the world’s largest containershipSamsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has just held the naming ceremony for the world’s largest containership, the MOL Triumph.
Dramatic storm footage makes a social media celebrity of Durban port pilotA marine pilot became a social media celebrity earlier this week after dramatic footage of a car carrier entering the port of Durban went viral on social media.
Logistics major appoints new CEOKamogelo Mmutlana has been appointed chief executive officer for Barloworld Logistics.
8 | FRIDAY March 24 2017
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MEDITERRANEAN SHIPPING COMPANY SA THE DEPENDABLE INDEPENDENT GENEVA SWITZERLAND
Adele Mackenzie
Importers who find their goods stopped or detained, especially in a case where they need their goods urgently, should take proactive steps to get their goods released. This often means seeking legal advice or going to court.
This was the general consensus of several legal advisers interviewed by FTW on the issue of customs stops, particularly those involving groupage shipments where one consignee’s goods are under suspicion but the entire container – containing multiple consignees’ goods – is seized.
Berning Robertson, senior associate in the shipping and logistics practice at Bowmans, and Quintus van der Merwe, partner in Shepstone & Wylie’s international transport, trade and energy department, agreed that customs had broad powers to stop, detain and examine goods. And they are not required to provide an explanation.
Van der Merwe added that there were particular laws governing counterfeit goods – under the Counterfeit Goods Act – and that ideally, should one consignment out of many be suspected of containing counterfeit goods, that consignment should be sent to a designated counterfeit goods depot to be unpacked and examined. “The rest of
the goods in the container can therefore be released,” he said.
But, it’s not as simple as that. According to Robertson it would not be “unreasonable” for customs officials to regard the whole container as “suspect” and detain all the goods.
“There are of course strict timelines around this,” added Van der Merwe, pointing out that those time periods were sometimes overlooked. “Over 90% of the officials involved are doing their job well and within the regulation constraints, but you do unfortunately get the cowboys who f lout the laws to the detriment of the industry as a whole,” he said.
Robertson told FTW that the owner/importer of the goods was entitled to approach the courts for the immediate release of the goods on an urgent basis. “It is doubtful whether customs will attempt to request more time for further examination when on the papers there is clear evidence that the importer’s goods are not counterfeit,” he said, pointing out that the court might award costs
to the owner/importer for such an application.
He further pointed out that in a situation where the loss had already been incurred – where a cargo owner has lost business due to his/her goods being detained – the importer
might have a legitimate claim for damage/loss against the South African Revenue Service (Sars).
“This will however depend on whether Sars acted contrary to the Customs Act and this action
resulted in the loss/damage for the importer. Furthermore, the importer must be able prove his losses/damages. Where the loss/damage is an estimate, proving such a loss is always difficult,” explained Roberston.
Tinus Barnard, director of Customs and Legal at dispute resolution firm, Custex Consulting, agreed that going to court was sometimes the only option available. “Getting an answer from the customs and border police officials is impossible. But of course, taking the legal route can also be time-consuming and expensive,” he added.
Importers must act with urgency
The owner/importer of the goods is entitled to approach the courts for the immediate release of the goods on an urgent basis.– Berning Robertson
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Detained LCL container
would only be released to Afristar once the carrier had the release letter. His company was “doing all it could” to ensure release of all the other parties’ goods, he said.
Lee Viljoen, national GM at groupage operator CFR Freight, said that LCL operators had to trust the information contained on the house bill of lading from their customers. “We simply cannot open a client’s goods until they have been released to us. Even if a box is damaged, we simply record the damage and tape the box up, letting our client know that damage has occurred.”
Clive Nel, managing director for ZacPak Durban, said it was standard procedure for the whole container to be detained while it was still under control of the shipping line. Furthermore, the South African Police Service (SAPS) does not have the manpower to investigate every case quickly. “As a storage depot with state warehouse facilities, we will often get requests to unpack the goods, once they’ve broken the seal,
in their absence with them saying they will return to inspect the goods at a later stage,” Nel explained.
He pointed out that cargo stops were a worldwide problem, adding that legitimate importers also benefited from the crackdown on counterfeit goods. “It’s unfortunately the crooks that make it difficult for the legitimate traders,” he said.
“There are about 11 different sub-sectors of government that are allowed to stop goods, either arriving in the ports or airports or en-route to the final destination,” said Nel. And according to him, these entities also do not provide the cargo owner/importer or groupage operator with insight into why a consignment has been stopped.
He said that Zacpak Durban, a depot licensed to unpack and repack confiscated goods, saw stops occurring on a weekly basis.
“And the consignments can be stopped more than once by separate entities and for different reasons,” Nel commented.
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