The International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) has created a rebate facility for the import of optic fibre cables and electrical apparatus used in international submarine optic fibre cable infrastructure.

This followed Telkom subsidiary Openserve’s 2019 application for the products classified under tariff subheadings 8544.70 and 8536.90.90, respectively.

According to Itac’s ‘Report 614’, published on Tuesday, the optic fibre cables and electrical apparatus for making connection to and in the electrical circuits, both used in the maintenance of the international optic fibre cable system, are not manufactured locally.

As the applicable customs duty has an unnecessary cost-raising effect on the maintenance of the international submarine optic fibre cable infrastructure, Itac, considering all the relevant information available at its disposal, determined that a duty relief, through the creation of a rebate provision, will result in a reduction in the maintenance costs.

The report outlined that optic fibre cables attract a general rate of customs duty of 15% ad valorem, while electrical apparatus attracts a general rate of customs duty of 5% ad valorem.

The rebate provision - which was also gazetted on January 19, by the South African Revenue Service as the amendment of Part 2 of Schedule No 4 of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964, outlining the full duty rebates - will be made subject to an Itac permit issued in terms of guidelines, rules and conditions.

The rebate provision outlines the importation – at such times and in such quantities and subject to such conditions as Itac may allow by specific permit, provided there is no availability in the Southern African Customs Union market – of optic fibre cables, classifiable under tariff subheading 8544.70, used in the international submarine optical fibre cable infrastructure, as well as the electrical apparatus for making connections to or in electrical circuit, for a voltage not exceeding 1 000 volts, other, classifiable under tariff 8536.90.90, for use in international submarine optical fibre cable infrastructure.