A Chatsworth business has been slapped with a hefty half-million Rand fine after being found guilty of illegally attempting to export waste paper to India without an export permit.
The directors and owners of Haashim’s Agency (Pty) Limited – a company trading in Florence Nightingale Road within the bustling Westcliff mixed trading and residential CBD (Unit Three) – were ordered to pay R100 000 by the weekend after a Durban magistrate imposed a R500 000 fine or five years’ imprisonment that has been wholly suspended for five years with conditions.
The local company, represented only by one of its directors, Afzal Ismail, pleaded guilty to the export of waste paper without obtaining an export permit under South Africa’s stringent Contravention of the International Trade Administration Act, in the Durban Magistrate’s Court last week.
South Africa and India had signed a raft of import and export, trading and foreign investment memorandums of understanding and business pacts and partnership when President Cyril Ramaphosa visited New Delhi as the guest of the BJP’s Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Republic Day celebrations in 2018.
According to the regional public prosecutor, Brian Cele, Haashim’s Agency, as a waste paper business based in Chatsworth, had packed 39 shipping containers with scrap paper and had the consignments transported and delivered to the South African Customs Depot in Durban for export to India in November last year.
The prosecution stated that the offending company was fully aware that the cargo required an export permit and had used an incorrect tariff to avoid applying for a permit.
However, alert officials at the Custom’s Illicit Trade Unit detected that paper work was amiss and inspected the containers of waste paper and subsequently detained the containers.
Ismail pleaded guilty and the company has been subjected to the following sentencing conditions:
The magistrate ordered the company to pay a fine of R200 000, or in default undergo five years’ imprisonment, and on condition R100 000 was paid by Saturday, 15 January.
Haashim’s Agency was further ordered to pay the balance of R100 000 in five monthly, consecutive instalments of R20 000 each from 3 February and the final amount should be paid on or before 3 June this year.
Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, regional spokeswoman for the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, has applauded the team work by the various clusters that ensured that corruption and fraud was stopped in its tracks: “This matter was finalised by the Regional Court Prosecutor, Brian Cele, the National Prosecuting Authority and Custom officials.
“The National Prosecuting Authority commends the excellent work done by Customs officials in ensuring that corruption and fraud are stopped in its tracks as it deprives the Government revenue to deliver on services for citizens of this country.”
She said the company was fully aware that this cargo required an export permit. “However, they registered the cargo under an incorrect tariff code that does not require an export permit to avoid applying for the permit. They were found out after an inspection by the Custom’s Illicit Trade Unit and the containers were subsequently detained,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
