On 31 December 2020 the South African Revenue Service (SARS) announced the introduction of Part 8 of Schedule No.10 to the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Trade Agreements / Trade Preferences) relating to the “Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)”.
According to the Notes to the Notice:
(a) Part 8 contains the full text of the Agreement with the exception of Annex II concerning the definition of the concept of ‘originating products’ and methods of administrative cooperation, which is incorporated as Part F in the Schedule to the Act, 1964.
(b) The AfCFTA column in Part 1 and the General Notes to Schedule No.1 to the Act, 1964 (Ordinary Customs Duty) provides for the abolition of duty or reduced rates of duty, as the case may be, contemplated in this Agreement.
A copy of the Notices is available on request.
Story by: Riaan de Lange