On 11 March 2011, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) issued Notice no. 196 exempting the import tariff on sodium hydroxide (caustic soda).
 
The duty reduction was requested by Mondi Limited and Moni Shanduka Newsprint (Pty) Ltd to the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) of South Africa. The Commission in turn recommended a tariff exemption, as caustic soda is not produced in sufficient quantities in the SACU.
 
Rebate provision
In order to control the inflow of the duty free good, the ITAC subjected caustic soda to a permit. Also, the government did not change the tariff schedule, but introduced a rebate provisions classified under 310.01/2815.12/04.06 to 08.06.
 
The regular tariff schedule is 20% in general as well as for EU and EFTA member states. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is exempted from a customs duty.
 
Affected trading partners
The GTA retrieves its data on affected trading partners from UN Comtrade. However, for the year 2010, the database was not able to provide the affected trading partners for Botswana, Swaziland, and Lesotho.