Clothing from China should get 45% duties levied but somehow Shein and Temu are dodging that.
Last year:
Shein — loved by shoppers, hated by rivals — is under investigation in South Africa
Local labor groups allege the fast fashion giant is skirting import taxes, giving it an unfair advantage.
Two trade unions — the National Clothing Retail Federation of South Africa and the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union — had filed formal complaints, in which both alleged that the company failed to pay import duties on orders made by its customers in the country.
An official with one of the trade unions claimed Shein pays as little as 10%–20% on import tariffs compared to standard tariff charges of 40%–45%. In the complaint, the unions allege that the company deliberately sends goods to its customers in small packages to accrue less import duty.
Local labor groups allege the fast fashion giant is skirting import taxes, giving it an unfair advantage.
restofworld.org
Then a few months later:
'Customs are insane.' Some Shein shoppers shocked by sudden surge in import costs
Many of Shein's South African clients are up in arms, as they are suddenly forced to pay much more for their imported clothing.
Across social media platforms, customers are reporting a sudden sharp increase in customs tax.
Regular Shein shopper Clivia Arendse told News24 that her most recent package weighed about 0.0353kg and she paid R322.65 in customs. But previously she paid only R135 for a similar package. Another client of the Chinese-founded fast-fashion giant reported that she received a bill for taxes of more than R777 on a R2 400 order.
A SA Revenue Service spokesperson said the agency is not aware of any increase in customs duties. But SARS did not respond to a query about whether it increased its scrutiny of Shein imports amid a South African government probe into the exporter's customs duty compliance.
Recently, Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel told News24 that clothing importers must pay 45% in duties, but that Shein seems to believe its imports are entitled to a much lower duty.
Shein appears to be sending very small packages to South Africa which are below the threshold for full duties. These packages are sent directly to customers or their local distributors. The retailer therefore avoids the 45% duties levied on larger consignments.
Patel said lower duties are meant for small quantities of imported clothing – like a single specialist wedding dress.
"Shein, of course, is an industrial-scale operation bringing in huge quantities of clothing but packages in small amounts."
Patel added that Shein was using the lower duty in ways it was not intended, which is creating an "unfair playing field" and could result in massive job losses in the local clothing industry.
Shein previously told News24 that the company was committed to adhering to local laws and regulations in all its markets.
Much of the local ire is directed towards Buffalo International Logistics, which delivers Shein packages to clients in South Africa. Shein shoppers are sharing their invoices online, comparing their shopping cart totals to the custom duty charges levied by Buffalo.
Many of Shein's South African clients are up in arms as they are suddenly forced to pay much more for their imported clothing.
www.news24.com
