Duty Increase

With an established track record with duty increase applications, we help local manufacturers and producers to get Customs duty protection.

A Customs duty helps local manufacturers and producers that are under pressure from imported products to compete in the market. Duty increase applications have increased over the years.

Customs duties are only increased if the applied duty rate is lower than the bound rate. The bound rate is the maximum duty increase permissible without violating World Trade Organisation (WTO) commitments.

— Duty increase process

The International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC), receives and investigates duty increase applications. Specific regulations prescribe the manner in which ITAC conducts investigations.

— Application and verification

A well prepared, motivated, and complete application is the most important part of the process. The key information included in the application is financial, labour, and market information. ITAC conducts a verification exercise to check the accuracy of the information provided in the application against the company records.

— Comments and oral hearings

Thereafter, ITAC will send out a non-confidential version of the application to interested parties soliciting preliminary comments. When this phase is complete, a decision to initiate an investigation is taken and the investigation is published in the Government Gazette. Interested parties can submit comments regarding the requested duty increase. In addition, all interested parties have an opportunity to apply for an oral hearing to present arguments verbally.

— Final decision

ITAC makes a recommendation to the Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition (DTIC) after considering all facts and information at its disposal. The duty increase process takes 6 – 12 months, however, the period can be significantly shorter if the industry is declared an industry in distress.

Is your locally manufactured product under pressure from competing imported products? With significant expertise in this area, let our expert consultants help you with a duty increase application and guide you throughout the process.