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Three pieces of major legislation have been introduced in the National Assembly to revise the Customs and Excise Act of 1964 to replace all the Customs-related provisions with new legislation and rename the Act. On 24 October 2013, the 95 page Customs Duty Bill, 2013 (Bill 43 of 2013), the 32 page Customs and Excise Amendment Bill, 2013 (Bill 44 of 2013), and the 349 page Customs Control Bill (Bill 45 of 2013) (Government Gazette № 36945, 18 October 2013).
The Customs Duty Bill, 2013 would deal with all tariff classification, Customs valuation, origin, preferences, advance rulings, administrative penalties and judicial matters.
The Customs and Excise Amendment Bill, 2013 would amend the Customs and Excise Act, 1964, to delete all provisions superseded by general provisions of the Customs Control Act applicable to all tax levying Acts. It would also delete all provisions relating to the customs control of imported goods and goods to be exported; to delete all provisions relating to the imposition, collection and refunding of customs duties and other matters relating to customs duties; to limit the remaining provisions of the Act to excise duties, fuel levies, Road Accident Fund levies, environmental levies, air passenger taxes and matters relating to such duties, levies and taxes. Finally, it would change the name of the Act to the Excise Duty Act, 1964.
The reasons for the new Customs Control Bill are set forth in its Preamble:
• Current customs legislation has not kept pace with technological advances and does not fully reflect the modern standards of the Revised Kyoto Convention and other related international instruments to which the Republic has assented;
• The Revised Kyoto Convention and these other related international instruments serve as a model framework for modern, efficient and cost-effective customs control and simplified customs procedures and formalities;
• There is a need for establishing a new legislative framework for the further development and reform of customs legislation in an open and democratic society;
• The mere amendment of current legislation will not achieve the desired result of modernisation and transformation of customs legislation and the simplification of customs procedures and formalities;
• Customs administration plays a critical role within the context of international trade and tourism in ensuring effective controls that secure revenue recovery, facilitation of legitimate trade and protection of society at large;
• Customs procedures and formalities should be efficient, transparent and predictable for carriers, importers, exporters, traders, travellers and other persons involved in or affected by customs procedures and formalities and not impede legitimate international trade, economic competitiveness and the movement of people and goods across national boundaries;
• A new legislative framework must achieve a balance between effective customs control, the secure movement of goods and people into and from the Republic and the facilitation of trade and tourism; and
• There is a need to establish legislation that can serve as a “platform” for the implementation of various other laws that impose taxes on goods, and laws that prohibit, restrict or control the import or export of certain goods;
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