Egypt plans to increase transit toll rates along the Suez Canal for dry bulk vessels and liquefied petroleum gas carriers by 5 percent, according to a Jan. 9 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The new rates, announced Jan. 4, will not impact tolls for other types of shipping, including container vessels, tankers carrying oil and oil products, liquefied natural gas carriers, car carriers and “general cargo” vessels. The changes were made by the Suez Canal Authority after “careful analysis of developments in competitor routes,” studies on the developing maritime transport market and the “global trade outlook,” the report said. The rates reflect the agency’s desire to “maintain traffic growth momentum at a challenging time for global shipping.”

Bahrain and Saudi Arabia recently signed a customs agreement based on the World Customs Organization’s authorized economic operator program, according to a Dec. 31 report from Zawya, a Dubai-based news organization. The deal will better “promote the flow of goods between” the countries, the report said, and help both nations conform to international trading standards and regulations.

Pakistan is expected to increase cotton imports in 2020 due to a 17 percent reduction in domestic production compared with last year, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report released Dec. 30. The low production was due to a combination of “intense hot” weather and a “severe” pest infestation. Imports are expected to increase to 4.4 million 480-pound bales, from last year’s 2.9 million, USDA said. Pakistan will also “continue to import better grades of cotton from the United States and other reliable sources to produce quality products for its textile export markets,” the report said.

The Ports Regulator of South Africa released new port tariffs for the period ranging from April 2002 to March 2021, according to a Dec. 13 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The announcement made “significant changes” to individual tariff categories, the HKTDC said. Rates will be increased for “marine services and related tariffs” by 5.5 percent on April 1, 2020, the HKTDC said, while export cargo duties will decrease by 20 percent. Export cargo dues of coal and “magnetite” will increase by 10 percent while other dues remain the same, the report said, but “caps will be applied.” Other changes were made to tariffs related to “locally registered vessels,” the HKTDC said.

The United Arab Emirates introduced an excise duty on “sweetened beverages” and vaping products beginning Dec. 1, according to a Dec. 12 report from the Hong Kong Trade Council. The country will levy a 50 percent tax on sweetened drinks and a 100 percent tax on “electronic smoking devices and tools, as well as the liquids used” with the devices, the report said. The duty on sweetened drinks applies to any beverage that has added sugar or other sweeteners, and applies to “liquid, concentrate, powder, extract, or any product that may be converted into a drink.” Exclusions include drinks that contain a minimum of 75 percent milk, milk products or baby formula.

Ethiopia’s Customs Commission is reportedly beginning enforcement of much stricter timelines for removal of cargo from ports, according to an article in Addis Fortune. Beginning Dec. 10, importers must remove their goods from warehouse and pay any duties, taxes or fees within two weeks from the day they are entered, or otherwise face a penalty. Previously importers had two months. The change had been set to take effect Sept. 30 but was delayed to give time for importers to implement the change. According to the report, importers are concerned that they won’t have enough time to complete the entry process in time to remove their goods by the new two-week deadline.

Senegal customs authorities at the Port of Dakar are imposing “severe and unpredictable” fines on cargo shortfalls for bagged and bulk shipments, according to a Dec. 5 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Port authorities are disproportionately sanctioning “substantial shortage or excess of cargo recorded by their own surveyor,” according to a letter sent to the Swedish Club -- a marine insurance company -- by TCI Africa, an independent consultant to the marine insurance sector. The fines have “significantly increased over the last few weeks,” the Oct. 30 letter said. In one instance, a company was fined about $336,000 for mistakes on its cargo manifest, the report said. Dakar customs declarations “should be prepared carefully prior to berthing,” the report said.

Malawi customs agents will be offered accredited training as part of a collaboration launched Dec. 2 between the Malawi Revenue Authority and the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, according to a press release. The collaboration will “introduce a new licensing framework” for clearing agents and provide them with a training course and exam to ensure they can appropriately “facilitate trade” in line with Malawi regulations. The training, which will start in late 2020, will be mandatory for all customs clearing agents, the press release said. New requirements for customs officers will be “phased in over an adjustment period” to give agents “adequate time” to become licensed. The project will support Malawi’s efforts to implement the World Trade Organization’s Trade facilitation Agreement, which it ratified in 2017.

Kenya introduced several tax-related measures that may have direct and indirect impacts on traders and shippers, KPMG said in a Nov. 26 post. Several value-added tax measures broaden the scope of the definition of “supply of imported services” to people who may not be registered for VAT, the post said, and expand the scope of supplies subject to VAT to include goods purchased online. Kenya also introduced “expanded relief for goods exported from special economic zones” and a larger list of “supplies” exempt from VAT, including “plant, machinery and equipment” used with certain “plastics recycling plants,” as well as certain corn, flour and wheat products. Another measure expands the scope of taxable income of “non-resident ship owners” to include payments from “demurrage and detention of containers at a port,” KPMG said.

Turkey’s Ministry of Trade recently announced new customs guidelines about the agency’s procedures for “individual transactions” and “commercial transactions,” according to a Nov. 22 post on the Baker McKenzie International Trade Compliance Blog. The section on individual transactions provides “basic information” on procedures and exemptions, including those for vehicles imported without returns, temporarily imported vehicles, goods delivered through mail, special vehicles for “disabled persons,” household goods, cash and jewelry, the post said. The commercial transactions detail procedures and information on customs rules, operations, taxation and temporary storage of goods. The guidance is an attempt to “increase the efficiency and ease of customs operations,” Baker McKenzie said, and contains “simple and comprehensive instructions.”