The country’s apex court has recently sought to provide legal certainty as to whether review and/or appeal proceedings are competent when attacking determinations made by the Commissioner in terms of the Customs and Excise Act, 91 of 1964 (“CEA”)[1].
During September 2023, offshore bunkering operations in South Africa received a devastating blow when various vessels operating in Algoa Bay were detained and subsequently seized by the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) following a dispute with their owners and operators surrounding the movement of fuel levy products and residual fuels to and from these vessels, and the implications arising thereof under the Customs and Excise Act No. 91 of 1964 (“the Act”).
The Minister of Public Enterprises has formally published in the Government Notice the intention, in accordance with the Act, for the incorporation of the company under the name “National Ports Authority SOC Limited”.
National logistics and port operator Transnet was hit with an apparent cyber-attack on Thursday, prompting concerns whether the reported hack was linked to the unrest in South Africa.
Today’s Africa Ports & Ships has reported that the industrial strike action which has been affecting our ports, most notably Durban and Ngqura, has now been extended to the Port of Cape Town.
Port State Control or “PSC” directs the way in which a port state exercises authority over foreign ships when those ships are in waters subject to its jurisdiction. Their authority to do so emanates from both domestic and international law.
It is anticipated that the technology afforded by such smart devices will also facilitate easier and quicker pre-customs clearance.
Local online publication Freight & Trading Weekly has in its 1 June 2018 publication reported that shipping lines have urged Transnet to consider redeploying some of its tugs currently operating in the Eastern Cape to the port of Cape Town.
The reality is that proper incorporation of well drafted STCs remains critical to the protection of a business, particularly where a claim arising from negligence or some other contractual obligation has occurred.
In July 2017 we published a note on a judgment handed down in the Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa, which addressed the common practice in South Africa of issuing so-called ‘protective writs’.
Although South Africa is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Cross Border Insolvency, the provisions of that convention have not been given effect to in South Africa, with the result that there is no automatic recognition of Hanjin Shipping Co Limited bankruptcy proceedings.
The launch of 'Operation Phakisa' in October 2014 which saw the government unveiling its stated policy to unlock the economic potential of South Africa's oceans has led to many interesting developments over the past year.
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