Namra bans whisky, food imports from Angola

The Namibia Revenue Agency (Namra) has banned the importation of food, such as macaroni, cooking oil and ‘Best’ whisky, saying they do not comply with health regulations.

These products do not have clear expiry dates, composition of the commodity and no English copy is provided on their packaging, while ‘Yes’ cigarettes lack health warnings, Namra spokesperson Tonateni Shidhudhu said in a press statement yesterday.

“Consumers are urged to be vigilant and cautious when buying food from Angola, because some products contain dangerous ingredients and they do not have an expiry date,” he said.

Shidhudhu further said dry wild berries (eembe) are levied at 10% of the general rate of duty when informal traders import them for commercial purposes from outside the South African Custom Union.

“The rate of customs duties differs for different commodities. For example, millet, maize and wheat are free and zero-rated for value added tax (VAT) irrespective of their origin,” he said.

Shidhudhu said the importation of firewood for commercial purposes is regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and the Environmental Management Act, 2007.

The importer of firewood must have import and harvesting permits, and VAT only applies to protected trees such as camelthorn, baobab, worm cure, Zambezi teak, mopane, leadwood, marula and tambuti.

Shidhudhu added that the importation for non-commercial purposes (duty-free allowances) schedule in the Customs and Excise Act, outlines that “goods imported by immigrants, tourists, returning residents and other passengers, for their personal use” to the value of N$5 000 are fully rebated.

“This rebate is applicable once per person during a period of 30 days and shall not apply to goods imported by persons returning after an absence of less than 48 hours. Goods in excess of N$5 000 are charged on a 20% flat rate. A baggage declaration NA305 is utilised to ensure travellers account for duties and taxes and to declare goods of Nokima when the value exceeds their duty-free allowance of N$5 000 and up,” he said.