Customs urges ethanol importers to register
The Directorate of Customs and Excise in the Ministry of Finance urged importers of ethanol to register and comply with the Customs Act in order to avoid punitive measures.
Various traders have been importing ethanol into the country for various reasons but mainly for production of COVID-19 related products. The ministry’s spokesperson Tonateni Shidhudhu said all importers, exporters, manufactures and distributors of ethyl alcohol (ethanol) should comply and register with the Directorate Customs and Excise within the next three months (October-December 2020).
He said that importers, manufacturers and distributors must be sure that ethanol is classified under the Harmonised System Code Heading and payment of excise duty on Ethyl Alcohol (ethanol) must be made.
“The 2020/2021 duty rates for ethanol were published in Government Gazette No. 7239 of 2020. Any deviation from the above classification of ethanol will be regarded as misclassification on which penalties will be incurred by traders in terms of the Customs and Excise Act 1998 (Act No. 20 of 1998),” Shidhudhu said.
Shidhudhu explained that the disposal and use of the ethyl alcohol can only be done by the licensees and registrants under the provisions of the Customs and Excise Act and subject to the approval by the Commissioner for Customs and Excise.
All importers, manufactures and distributors, when registering with the Directorate Customs and Excise must submit proof of registration with BIPA or the trade ministry, proof of physical address, description of goods to be manufactured, details of licensed suppliers and provide a detailed manufacturing process of their respective ethanol-based product.
