Stiff spike in ethanol imports

Jo-Maré Duddy - The directorate of customs and excise at the ministry of finance today said it has observed an “influx” of ethyl alcohol or ethanol imports into Namibia.
The spike in imports by “various traders” is for “various reasons, but mainly for the production of Covid-19 related products”, the chief public relations officer at the ministry, Tonateni Shidhudhu, said.
Ethanol may only be used and disposed by the licensees and registrants under the provisions of the Customs and Excise Act and is subject to the approval of the commissioner of customs and excise.
The ministry reminded importers, manufacturers and distributors that ethanol must be corrected classified and that excise duty on this must be paid.
Any deviation of classification will be regarded as misclassification on which penalties will be incurred by traders, the ministry warned.