SARS-PRC bilateral deal to support MoU of textile & clothing

23 Sep '06

2 min read

The Commissioner of South African Revenue Service (SARS), Mr. Pravin Gordhan, and the Minister of Customs of the People's Republic of China (PRC), Mr. MU Xinsheng, today signed a Memorandum of Cooperation and Agreed Minutes aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two Customs administrations.

The Governments of the Republic of South Africa and the PRC have also entered into a bilateral agreement on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters.

The agreements were welcomed by the Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr. Jabu Moleketi and the Chinese Ambassador to South Africa, LIU Guijin.

Minister Mu and his delegation are visiting South Africa with the intention of consolidating the strong relations that already exist between the two countries. Objectives for both countries include: strengthening the relationship between SARS and GACC (The General Administration of Chinese Customs); and focus on practical measures to improve the management of international trade between South African and the PRC

The countries have also agreed to a pilot project to manage the trade between South Africa and the PRC. This will entail the advance electronic submission of Customs data and will allow for the joint detection of high risk.

The bilateral Customs agreement will create a stronger legal basis for Customs cooperation in the administration of bilateral trade. It will also support the Memorandum of Understanding on the importation of textile and clothing that was signed between the two countries.