Review of customs duty on lead acid batteries of a kind used to start piston engines

In its ITAC Report No. 491, the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (“ITAC” or “the Commission”) recommended an increase in the general of custom duty applicable to lead acid batteries of a kind used to start piston engines, from 5% ad valorem to 15% ad valorem and recommended to review the duty structure applicable to the subject lead-acid batteries, three years following tariff support. The subject products are classifiable under tariff subheadings 8507.10.91 and 8507.10.99.

Subsequently, the Commission initiated a review of the customs duty applicable to the subject products from 18 March 2022, publishing in the Government Gazette No. 46059 a Notice (No. 894 of 2022) for interested parties to comment.
During its deliberations, the Commission considered all the relevant information at its disposal. In particular, the Commission took the following factors into account:

(i) That there are currently four known manufacturers of the subject product in the Southern African Customs Union region (“SACU”);

(ii) Following the implementation of the tariff support in 2015 (i.e. 2015 to 2017), there was a decline in the volume of low-priced imports and during this period, tariff support assisted the SACU industry to increase its share of the of SACU market alongside rising investment in capital machinery and growth in employment;

(iii) However, during period 2019 to 2021 where the Commission conducted its review, the Commission found there had been a resurgence of low-priced imports and the significant volume of imports resulted in the displacement of market shares, production volumes, capacity utilisation and employment opportunities of manufacturers of the subject product in the SACU.

The Commission concluded that the increase in tariff support would enable the SACU industry to grow its market share and increase economies of scale. This should enhance the competitive position of the industry against imports of the similar product into the SACU market. In addition, tariff support would result in the retention of existing jobs and the creation of additional jobs within the automotive sector.

The Commission recommended that the rate of customs duty applicable to lead acid batteries of a kind used to start piston engines classifiable under tariff subheading 8507.10.91 and 8507.10.99 be increased from 15% ad valorem to the World Trade Organisation bound rate of 30% ad valorem.

Please click on the link below to access the full report:

Report 702 

ISSUED BY THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION COMMISSION OF SOUTH AFRICA