Stricter rules for imports are on the cards, judging by a new trade policy statement published by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (d t ic).“South Africa will step up efforts to ensure that trade defence instruments are deployed effectively against unfair and injurious imports. In this regard, we are reviewing the applicable legislation to streamline the application and investigation processes to enable swift and more effective action,” reads the statement. “We will also continue to strengthen coordination with Sars to eliminate illicit trade and the under-invoicing of imports that cause enormous damage to the economy in revenue, lost jobs and industrial capacity.”Illegal imports remain a massive problem in South Africa across sectors. Ipsos, an independent market research agency, recently released findings showing that South A f r ica’s illicit tobacco trade had surged to unprecedented levels.“The reality is that under-invoiced and illegally imported goods run into billions of rands,” said a source. “It is a massive problem that the country has struggled to get a grip on. Customs fraud is an off-the-chart challenge.”According to the source, more often than not, attempts to enforce rigorous regulations only hit legal traders harder, with more arduous compliance required. “Our enforcement agencies are not on top of the problem – and unless we introduce better systems it will remain the case.”According to the source, the moment one placed a duty on a product the opportunity for fraudulent behaviour arose.“If you have 30% duty on a container of goods and it is declared at R100, you pay far more than if you declare it at R1. It is not really rocket science.”He said any move by the government to introduce trade defence instruments would be welcomed as many businesses were often negatively impacted by under-invoicing practices or illegal trade."South Africa’s illicit tobacco trade has surged to unprecedented levels.– Ipsos report
