IN A last-minute move - the training levy for the cargo handling sector of the freight industry has now been postponed from March 1 until a suggested April 1 deadline.
Lack of time for some industry members to adjust their administrative systems, and problems raised by certain parties, were cited as two of the main reasons for the delay, according to Brad Jacklin, executive director of the Maritime Industry Training Board (MITB) Cargo Handling sector.
We are hoping for that April 1 date, he said, but we are taking into account all the concerns expressed before this is finalised. The levy - based against 0,5% of a cargo handling operation's total revenue - has already raised some gripes from the freight forwarding industry, which will have to record the levy in its disbursement outlay and billing.
Comments range from inflationary to unconstitutional.
But the main problem, according to Des Mooney, operations manager of Heneways Freight Services, and chairman of TAFF (Transvaal Association of Freight Forwarders), will be the perception amongst agents' clients that a form of double levy is taking place. This is because the cargo handling levy has been preceded by the clearing & forwarding sector's own R2 training levy stamp on bills of lading.
While the MITB as a whole, according to Jacklin, would prefer a single, overall levy, the sectoral path is currently the one being followed. And the main players in the cargo handling industry have already approved the 0,5% levy. At the end of the day, it was decided as the best method to raise funds for training, Jacklin said.
A possible advantage in the scheme, he added, could arise if the amount raised exceeds industry training needs. If that's the case, he said, we can reduce the amount without having to go back through the gazetting procedure.
