In Government Notice No. 1213 published in Government Gazette No. 47202 dated 5 August 2022, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition (the “Minister”) published a draft notice for public comment in terms of which the Minister proposed amending the import control regulations contained in Government Notice No. R. 91 published in Government Gazette No. 35007, dated 10 February 2012, as amended, to prohibit the import of certain metal processing machinery and mechanical appliances, including furnaces, granulators, guillotines and shredders, except under the authority of and in accordance with the conditions stated in a permit issued by the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (the “Commission”) (the “Draft Amendment Notice”).

The Commission requested interested parties to make submissions and/or comments on the guidelines on the importation of certain metal processing machinery and mechanical appliances, including furnaces, granulators, guillotines and shredders.

These guidelines follow the draft policy proposals on measures to restrict and regulate trade in ferrous and non-ferrous metals waste, scrap and semi-finished ferrous and non-ferrous metal products to limit damage to infrastructure and the economy.

The amendments to the Import Control Regulations by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition in terms of Section 6(1)(b) of the International Trade Administration Act, 2002 (Act No. 71 of 2002) were published in Notice No. R. 2804 in Government Gazette No. 47627 of 30 November 2022.

In terms of the amendment notice, the subject products shall not be imported into the Republic of South Africa except under the authority of and in accordance with the conditions stated in a permit issued by ITAC.

It is required that a Form IE230 for registration of first-time applicants and Form IE461, application for an import permit, must be duly completed by an applicant.

An Application Form must be accompanied by the following documents:

Any required environmental operating permit
A valid SARS tax clearance certificate for all applications
A sworn affidavit deposed to by the managing director or similar official that the information provided in the application form and any accompanying document is correct to the best of his or her knowledge

An Applicant must also provide, along with an application form and the documents specified the following information:

The reason for the importation of the subject products
The use to which the subject products will be put, including identification of the end product to be manufactured and sold to a third party
Where the input material to be processed by the subject products (e.g. scrap or waste metal) is being sourced
The person/s to which the end product will be sold

These guidelines came into effect on the date of publication in the Government Gazette, namely 30 November 2022.