BRITISH AFRICA ANGLO-EGYPTIAN SUDAN Documents on goods shipped to Anglo-Egyptian Sudan do not require consular visa, nor is any special form of invoice called for. The commercial invoice and ocean bill of lading are sufficient. Invoices (one original and one copy), in English or Arabic, should show clearly: Name and address of supplier; number and marks of packages; gross weight or measure of packages; nature, quality, and net weight or measure of contents; value of goods (c.i.f.). If not showing separately these details, but showing total value, the kind of value (that is, c.i.f., etc., and in what place) should be placed opposite. They must bear a signed statement that the particulars are true to the best of the knowledge and belief of the person making it. If the c.i.f. value is not given, separate documents showing freight, insurance, etc., must be produced. certificate showing the nature of the goods, marks, numbers, and weights of the packages signed by the proper official of the country from which they come and showing the country of production or manufacture must be presented, along with the transit declaration at entry of transit goods into Sudan. The documents should go forward separately from the merchandise. A Two copies of the customs declaration (form 2966) are required on each parcel-post package to the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Grouping two or more such packages under one set of declarations is not permitted. A dispatch note (form 2972), properly filled out, must be attached to each parcel-post package. The postal export declaration (form S-250), formerly required by the United States customs officials, is no longer necesary on commercial parcel-post and mail packages valued at $25 or over. The customary shipper's export declaration (form 7525) should be filled out for all exports to the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan by freight or express. DUTIABLE VALUE For goods not assessed on fixed official values, the values for the assessment of ad valorem duties are determined by the customs estimators, who are not bound to accept the values stated in the importer's declaration or other documents submitted as evidence of value. If the owner or consignee refuses to accept the values as assessed by the estimators of a kind for which no official values have been established, the chief customs officer may, upon giving notice, within 3 days after the refusal to accept the customs valuation, of his intention to do so, take the duties in kind. ANTIDUMPING PROVISIONS No antidumping measures have been enacted in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. 137 LABELING, PACKING, AND MARKING Labeling. No regulations are in force in Sudan requiring imported goods to be marked to show country of origin, nor are there special laws governing the labeling of food and drugs products. All cotton piece goods, except handwoven head and body wraps not exceeding 5 yards in length and 12 yards in width, are required to be folded in exact, uniform yard, or meter lengths. Each piece must be visibly marked on the exterior to indicate the exact number of meters or yards contained in the piece; for this purpose the figures indicating the length must be followed by the word yard" or "meter as the case may be. Where the width is specified, it must be correctly marked in inches or centimeters. The law requires these markings to be stamped into the material, printed on it, or be shown by tickets affixed to the piece. Cotton velvets may be folded in laps of one-half yard or meter, if marking, etc., conform to regulations in other respects. Goods rolled and not folded must comply with prescribed marking regulations. Hanks, skeins, balls, spools, cards, etc., of cotton thread, including sewing, darning, embroidery and knitting cotton for retail sale must be labeled to show clearly the length or weight in one of the units standardized by the law in Sudan (kilos or meters). Packing. Goods must be strongly packed in not too large packages to facilitate the safe rehandling in the transshipment, whether by rail or by boat through Egypt, or by rail from the Red Sea ports. The climate is tropical. Each outside package must be clearly marked with a distinctive mark for the purpose of identification and the railway officials may require any package which in their opinion is not sufficiently marked to be re-marked at the expense of the owner. The railway may also put its own mark on any package for purposes of identification. Marking.-When the shipment consists of more than one package, they should be numbered as well as marked. Numbers and marks must be shown on all shipping documents. ENTRY AND WAREHOUSING Entry-Goods of Egyptian origin are free of import duties. This is also true of those on which duties have been paid in Egypt, unless the duties in Sudan are higher than those paid in Egypt, in which case only the amount of the difference in duty is paid. Bona fide products of Uganda, Congo, or Ethiopia are subject to a flat rate of five percent ad valorem. Goods may be entered for consumption, for warehousing, as in transit, or for transshipment. The declarations must set forth full particulars of the goods, including the name of the country of origin and the place of shipment of the importing vessel. Declarations may be changed only with written permission of the chief customs officer and before examination of the goods. If demanded, the true invoice, insurance policy, bill of lading, and other shipping documents must be presented. The person named in a delivery order issued by the master of the importing vessel as the person to whom or to whose order de livery of any goods carried in such vessel is to be made is regarded by the Government as the owner or agent of the owner of the goods. Goods must be entered at once, but if not entered and withdrawn from the customs enclosure within 6 months from date of deposit, they may be sold at public auction after 3 weeks' written notice to the owner, if he is known. Perishable goods may be sold at any time after 12 hours and need not be advertised. The owner or interested person must, however, be notified if it is reasonably practicable to do so. The owner or consignee or his agent has the right to recover the goods at any time before the sale has commenced. The proceeds of any forced sale of goods by the customs is applied first to the payment of all costs of the sale, then to the payment of the import duties, and other customs charges, the freight, and warehouse or quay rentals. Any surplus resulting from the sale is held for three years for the account of the importer. If not claimed within that 3-year period it becomes the absolute property of the Government. Goods may be withdrawn without payment of duty under such regulations and security as the director may fix, and, if reexported within the period agreed upon, the duties may be remitted in whole or in part, according to whether the goods are reexported in whole or in part. When goods are transported by rail the railway company is not held responsible for notifying consignees concerning goods on hand, either in sheds or on quays, and accepts no responsibility for any loss or damage incurred as a consequence of any delay in clearing goods. Warehousing. There are customs enclosures, sheds, warehouses, and stores for the examination, entry, and storage of goods, as well as licensed bonded warehouses for storage of goods not entered immediately for consumption within the Sudan. Goods must be removed from the bonded warehouses within a period of 12 months, and if stored in railway bonded depots they may be required to be removed after 5 months, with 1 month's notice in addition. If not cleared for consumption and duties and other charges paid, or if not reshipped within that time, either to country of origin or to another foreign port, they are sold within 6 months, as in the case of goods not removed from the customs premises already outlined. Samples may be taken by the importer with written permission from the chief customs officer. They must be withdrawn in the presence of a customs official and under such regulations as the chief officer may prescribe as to payment of duty, etc. Goods must be stored in the original packages in which they are imported, unless they have been repacked on the wharf under special permit because of the condition in which they were received. They may be packed, repacked, sorted, separated, or altered in any way necessary to the preservation, sale, shipment, or disposal thereof, provided they are repacked in the same packages in which they were imported or in such other packages as the chief customs officer may permit. If the packing is in an unsatisfactory condition, the importer may be required to repair the cases. İnflammables, explosives, livestock, perishable goods, goods in bulk, such as timber for construction, goods under prohibition or license for importing, duty-free goods, those subject to special regu lations, and those which may contaminate or spoil other goods by contact may not be stored, but must be cleared at once. Goods stored through inadvertence must be removed at the expense of the importer. Goods stored in warehouses are subject to the rate of duty in effect at the time they are entered for consumption. Rental charges become effective at the expiry of 8 clear working days after arrival of the goods in railway bonded warehouses or ports. Transit.-Goods in transit are not assessed import duty though all warehouse and other customs fees must be paid. Goods in transit must be shipped under bond, but if entering in transit through Egypt, the bond given at entrance into Egypt suffices. If not finally exported from Egypt and from Sudan within 6 months from the date on which transit advice note was issued, the deposit is forfeited. Goods in transit at Gambeila for Ethiopia must be cleared and removed without delay, since there are no transit-storage accommodations available there. If not clearly marked with the name of the ultimate destination. and if not shown on the manifest as for transshipment, goods transshipped in the ports of Sudan are subject to a fee of 1 percent ad valorem, as well as to any warehouse fees and customs handling charges due on the goods. ABANDONED GOODS As already mentioned, goods left in storage unclaimed for a period of 6 months and those left in bonded warehouses for over 1 year, or in bonded railway sheds for over 6 months are considered as abandoned and may be sold after notification. Perishable goods not cleared within 12 hours from time of deposit may also be considered as abandoned. REEXPORTED GOODS-REFUND OF DUTIES Goods may be reexported without payment of duty at any time by presentation of an entry for reexportation. No export duty is assessed upon such goods when they are reexported. If they have been cleared and duties paid, they may be reexported with partial refund of duties paid. The drawback or refund of duties allowed is the difference in the amount of import duties already paid and export duties that would be paid if the reexported goods were of native origin (1 percent ad valorem). The goods must be identified to the satisfaction of the customs at stations of export. The detailed receipt for the import duties must be presented, the goods must be reexported within 6 months from date of importation as shown by the customs records, and claim for drawback or refund must be made and established at time the goods are presented for shipment. The regulations make no mention of the necessity that goods be unused or in original containers in order to obtain drawback of duties paid. FACILITIES FOR ADVANCE RULINGS ON CUSTOMS CLASSIFICATION An exporter may obtain an advance classification of his products if not specified in the tariff, either by sending a sample of the comp troller of customs or by requesting the importer to obtain it for him. Such decisions would, however, probably be only advisory in character. FINES AND IRREGULARITIES Penalties are provided for violations of the various provisions of the customs laws and regulations. If goods differ widely from the specifications of the invoice and declaration for entry or for warehousing, the maximum penalty is £E.50. The same fine is imposed for the undervaluation or wrong description of the goods; the misstatement as to quantity or quality of goods; the willful use or presentation of documents known to be false or counterfeited; the alteration, counterfeiting, falsification, or destruction of shipping documents; the concealment of goods in goods or in packages or elsewhere; the refusal to present documents demanded by the customs; the importation of contraband goods; the violation of warehousing regulations; and similar violations of the law. In addition the goods are, in each case, liable to forfeiture. APPEALS AND CLAIMS Any person, deeming himself aggrieved by any decision of a customs officer or magistrate, may appeal the decision to the central customs commission at any time within 3 months from the date of the action by a petition in writing. This commission is composed of the director of customs, the assistant director of customs, and such other Government officials as the governor general may from time to time appoint, either generally or for any particular case. It has the authority to make such further inquiry and to issue such orders as it deems fit, confirming, altering, or annulling the decision under appeal, provided that no order on the appeal may have the effect of subjecting the person to any greater degree of confiscation, rate of duty, or fine, than has been adjudged against him in the original order. When the value of the goods confiscated or the amount of the fine involved is as high as £E.25, the case may, without question, be further appealed to the court of appeal. Other cases may be appealed to the court of appeal only under special permit, either from the commissioner or from the court of appeal itself. This appeal must also be in writing and be made within 3 months after the date of the decision appealed against. If any fine or confiscation of goods is ordered in the absence of the accused person, he must be notified in writing (if he can be found). He then has the right to apply for reconsideration of his case if application is made within 30 days from date of the order. The authority who made the order may reconsider the case if he thinks fit and may rescind or revise the order, so long as the penalty is not changed to the prejudice of the absent or unrepresented person. If reconsideration is refused, the regular order of appeal may be followed. In case of appeal the deposit of duty should be made under protest, and if the final decision is in favor of the appellant, the deposit, or such part as the decision renders him, is returned by the customs. Any other goods passing through the 70031-34- -10 |