In December 2024 and January last year I corresponded with the department of trade, industry & competition and a deputy minister on the issue of uncontrolled imports, especially vehicles from China and mail order purchases from offshore (specifically Temu). Vehicles were flooding in at pricing that clearly gave the impression of being too low against manufactured cost and thus must have been heavily subsidised. Temu was sending in parcels that appeared to be underpriced and not properly declared for VAT and import duties.
The answer from a departmental official was that the government could not hinder imports. In follow-up correspondence I emphasised the threat to local employment and the tax base. A full year later and Chinese-based mail order businesses have eventually been forced into local clearing, thus improving VAT and duty collections, and the government is finally starting to deal with subsidised vehicle imports (“SA weighs antidumping duties on Chinese and Indian cars”, January 28).
I also asked whether there was any plan to institute a South African-wide campaign to convince consumers and industry to buy locally made and grown products, to increase employment and increase the South African tax take. One has to wonder whether this is simply incompetence or whether there are political overtones to decisions that favour countries such as China to the detriment of the South African population. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments toletters@businessday.co.za.
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