{"id":819510,"date":"2025-04-03T13:12:50","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T11:12:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=819510"},"modified":"2025-04-03T13:12:57","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T11:12:57","slug":"big-changes-for-shein-and-temu-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/819510\/big-changes-for-shein-and-temu-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Big changes for Shein and Temu in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has issued a notice of its intention to withdraw all forms of concessions currently used by traders<\/strong><\/a> that are outside of current regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The notice<\/strong><\/a> specifically includes concessions, deviations, agreements or special allowances that have been granted in the past to traders in relation to certain requirements of the Customs and Excise Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to consultancy PwC, the revenue service has suggested that many concessions are no longer applicable due to changes in law, policy, procedure or technological advancements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SARS commissioner Edward Kieswetter said in the notice that some concessions date back 20 years and were granted for a specific purpose at the time, that are no longer applicable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, in an attempt to ensure compliance with the Act, SARS intends to withdraw all these concessions that traders rely on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This would mean that products from Chinese retailers Shein and Temu can no longer be cleared at customs using a simplified process with a 20% flat duty rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This specific concession was implemented in 2007 and was one of the main mechanisms the e-commerce giants used to import their goods into South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mechanism, which only applies to shipments valued under R500, was intended to help logistics companies cope with an influx of imports as international e-commerce activity began accelerating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, local retailers have flagged this concession as being highly damaging for local businesses that have to face much higher taxes and cannot compete with cheaper prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retailers claimed that the concessions were also open to abuse, with importers using loopholes to ensure they benefited from the rules\u2014such as splitting packages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, SARS introduced a temporary measure to clamp down on these practices, modifying the way customs duties and import VAT are calculated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specifically, it changed it so that VAT was added to the 20% flat rate customs duty applied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, after review, all special concessions are now on the chopping block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PwC said that businesses will now need to ensure they are fully compliant with the current Act, without relying on outdated concessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies may also need to adjust their operations and procedures to align with the updated legal requirements, it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The withdrawal of concessions could lead to increased costs for businesses that previously benefited from special allowances or arrangements,” PwC said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The process is open to feedback, with SARS giving stakeholders until 23 April 2025 to comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stakeholders who believe a concession should stay will have to indicate why the concessions should not be withdrawn and\/or suggest legislative amendments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wider impact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While the withdrawal of concessions will be particularly damaging to import businesses like Shein and Temu, the shift from SARS also flags problems for wider industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to reports by MyBroadband, customs experts have flagged the negative impact on industries ranging from e-commerce to wine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, wine producers in the Cape will no longer be allowed a concession to clear goods up to 14 days after leaving port.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The withdrawal is expected to face backlash from affected industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legal experts flagged similar issues when SARS made import\/export changes in September 2024, noting that, while some industries benefit, other parts of the economy suffer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2024 changes would have benefitted South Africa’s textile industry, with higher prices on previously cheaper imports levelling the playing field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, consumers would have suffered, losing out on access to cheaper goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also risks associated with changes making it more expensive for other countries to get their products into South Africa cheaply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent example of this is how the United States has launched tariffs on trade countries, including South Africa, in retaliation to what it views as “unfair” charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    SARS wants to withdraw all concessions for imports and exports\u2014including the flat rate for cheap goods from Chinese retailers like Shein and Temu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":812118,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[6143,3246,20059,19401],"class_list":["post-819510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-concessions","tag-sars","tag-shein","tag-temu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=819510"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":819514,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819510\/revisions\/819514"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/812118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=819510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=819510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=819510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}