Cape Town – People who dump sub-standard products in South Africa would not only have the goods seized and destroyed, they could also expect to face the full might of the law.
South African Minister of Trade and Industry Dr Rob Davies issued this warning on Thursday as he presided over the destruction of goods that had been certified sub-standard in terms of the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications Act after being confiscated at various ports of entry and from suppliers.
“We want to warn perpetrators that if we find them, they will lose their products … they must also be prepared to face the full might of the law,” Davies said at the event at CBC St John’s in Parklands in Cape Town.
According to Davies, trading in sub-standard and low quality products was a criminal enterprise and should be treated as such. He said non-compliant goods were harmful to consumers and created unfair competition against local firms that produced compliant products.
“We want to root out these non-compliant products. We must consequently make sure that people who are selling these products are intercepted and subject to criminal penalties,” he said.
Davies said the estimated value of non-compliant products destroyed, which included electro-technicals, chemicals, mechanicals and materials, was R36.6 million. He said 80 percent of the goods had been impounded at ports of entry.
The executive for customs at the South African Revenue Services, Beyers Theron, added that the toxic and corrosive nature of illicit trade and organised transnational crimes harmed economic growth and job creation, challenged the rule of law, robbed government of revenue and threatened human rights and quality of life.
African News Agency
* Use IOL’s Facebook and Twitter pages to comment on our stories. See links below.