Customs and Excise (Suspension) (Amendment) Regulations, 2024 (No. 272)
From 1 February 2024 the duty suspension on basic goods ends — cooking oil, maize meal, milk, sugar, rice, flour, salt, soap, washing powder, toothpaste and petroleum jelly all attract full import duty again.
This instrument repeals section 9I of the Customs and Excise (Suspension) Regulations, 2003 (S.I. 257 of 2003) with effect from 1 February 2024.
Section 9I was the provision suspending duty on a list of basic consumer goods: cooking oil, maize meal, milk, sugar, rice, flour, salt, bath soap, laundry soap, washing soap, washing powder, toothpaste and petroleum jelly. That suspension was introduced to hold down the price of basics during a period of shortage.
With the repeal, imports of all thirteen categories return to normal duty from 1 February 2024. For importers and wholesalers the effect is immediate on landed cost, and for retailers it feeds into shelf prices for exactly the goods that dominate a low-income household basket.
The instrument does not phase the change in or provide for goods already in transit, so entries presented on or after 1 February 2024 are dutiable.
One citation oddity worth flagging: this instrument is cited as the Customs and Excise (Suspension) (Amendment) Regulations, 2024 (No. 272), and so is S.I. 93 of 2024, a different instrument dealing with power utility equipment. Two separate 2024 instruments therefore carry the same amendment number.
What changed
- Section 9I of the Customs and Excise (Suspension) Regulations, 2003 is repealed
- Duty suspension ends on cooking oil, maize meal, milk, sugar, rice, flour and salt
- Duty suspension ends on bath, laundry and washing soap, washing powder, toothpaste and petroleum jelly
- The repeal takes effect on 1 February 2024
Who this affects
- importers and wholesalers of basic groceries
- supermarket chains and tuckshop operators
- clearing agents handling foodstuff and toiletry consignments
- consumers buying imported cooking oil, maize meal, rice and soap
- local manufacturers of the same goods, who regain duty protection
Plain-language summary — not legal advice. Always read the full instrument.