On 19 November 2021, Rotunda (Pty) Ltd applied for a duty increase on thermal paper, including thermo-copy paper, in rolls, of a width not exceeding 150mm classifiable under tariff subheading 4810.13.20. The requested duty increase will result in the duty increasing from 0% to 20% ad valorem by way of creating a new 8-digit tariff subheading.

The new subheading will read as follow:

“Thermal paper, including thermocopy paper, in rolls, of a width not exceeding 85mm classifiable under tariff subheading 4810.13.20, by the creation of a new 7- and 8-digit tariff subheading structure under 4810.13.2 of the same goods”.

The reasons for the application include:

• The import volumes of finished thermal paper rolls into the SACU market have increased over the past few years. This has resulted in a decline in local converter’s domestic market share.
• The poor-quality imports are slowing down the growth of local converters, who can make a difference to the South African economy by providing employment.
• Paper quality, including manufacturing processes such as the sources of pulp and chemistry contained, are ignored, including the basic metrics of the finished rolls such as grammage, length, width, and outer and core diameters.
• The imported rolls are often low priced and do not comply with any standards, resulting in local converters not being price competitive with these imported products.

Interested parties have until 17 December 2021 to respond.

Want to know more? Contact us at info@xa.co.za