National Treasury on 12 November released “Draft Regulations on the Carbon Offset in terms of the Draft Carbon Tax Bill” on which public comment is due 14 December.
This is the second time that the draft regulations have been published for comment. The main comments received on the initial draft regulations focused on: (i) the design of the carbon offset including the role of the carbon offset in facilitating the transition to a low carbon economy; (ii) scope of the offsets and the suitability of a cap on the allowance; and (iii) the technical, legal and administrative aspects of the regulation.
The draft regulation gives effect to the carbon offsets scheme under the carbon tax and is structured as follows: (i) Definitions; (ii) Projects eligibility and non-eligibility criteria; (iii) Offset utilisation period; (iv) Designation of administrator; (v) Creation, maintenance and access to the offset registry; (vi) Procedure for claiming the offset allowance; (vii) Duties of the administrator in facilitating taxpayer claiming the allowance; (viii) Requirements for extended letter of approval; and (ix) Content and retainment of certificate.