Africa-Press – Lesotho. The Senate has unanimously passed the Customs and Excise Bill, 2018 on its sitting on Thursday. This was after the Minister of Finance Hon. Thabo Sophonea read the Bill for the second and third
time in the Upper House. This Bill amends the Customs and Excise Act No. 10 of 1982 which was said to be “obsolete” and no longer addresses the present-day’s challenges.
The Bill empowers the Commissioner-General (of Lesotho Revenue Authority) to, among others, determine the origin of goods, enter into agreements with other customs administrations
for smooth facilitation of co-operation, including exchange of customs information and facilitation of customs processes. It will enable mounting of the computerised systems at ports of entry for processing the declarations,
a feature which was lacking in its predecessor. It again introduces penalties for non-compliance and such penalties will not necessarily translate into
litigation in the courts of law. According to this Bill, a person who intends to declare imports and exports digitally is expected to lodge an application for registration to the Commissioner-General who may
approve or decline such request. It warns that: “A person who is issued with a user access code shall only use the access code issued to him and not allow any other person to use the code unless the person is in his
employment or he has obtained the Commissioner General’s authority. ” Meanwhile, those who contravene the aforesaid commits an offence which attracts penalty
for conviction to a fine not exceeding M50 000 or five years imprisonment or both. This legal instrument also “provides for new and modern customs initiatives, such as the Preferred Trader
Scheme, commonly known as Accreditation. It is a scheme meant to promote compliance by reducing inspection costs to trade and minimising delays associated with import and export inspection and other processes.
“It provides for a process of issuance of a certificate from registration of applicants for those
who qualify up to a stage where the Commissioner General may suspend or cancel the certificate in case of non-compliance or abuse of the system. As an
indication to those who comply, the Commissioner General shall provide benefits that may change from time to time. ” It is further touted to comply with the international instruments such as the Preferential Trade
Agreement (PTA) between Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR), popularly SACU-MERCOSUR PTA, the Economic
Partnership Agreement (EPA) amongst the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the European Union (EU), known as SADC-EU EPA. Reacting to this piece of
law, the Principal Chief of Leribe, Chief Joele Motšoene said the ministries have to mainstream their services so that they are all in harmony. The Principal Chief of
Leribe commended this Bill, noting that it will see improved turnaround time for declaration at the border posts and do away with long ques due to its
convenience. He further raised concern about the taxes imposed on the imported donations which are supposedly expected to help those in need. For his part, the
Minister said they are in talks with their South African counterparts over this issue. The Customs and Excise Bill, 2018 is now awaiting the publication of the gazette for its operationalisation.
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