On 31 July 2009, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) published a tariff exemption on 'vulcanised rubber bands in immediate packaging of 20 kg or more'. The customs rebate is classified under 40.16/4016.99.13/8 and took effect on 24 July 2009.
 
The previous tax schedule was 15% ad valorem in general, 5.7% for EU member states, 11.3% for EFTA member states, and 0% for the Southern African Development Community.
 
The temporary tariff reduction was requested by Trefoil Manufacturing (Pty) Ltd to the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC). The ITAC in turn agreed to a tariff exemption, on the grounds that the good in question is not being produced in the SACU region.
 
Affected trading partners
The GTA retrieves its data on affected trading partners from UN Comtrade. However, for the year 2008, the database was not able to provide the affected trading partners for Botswana, Swaziland, and Lesotho.