NCC Welcomes High Court's Decision To Not Allow Non-Compliant Imported Goods

The National Consumer Commission (NCC) welcomed the Gauteng High Court's decision of not allowing non-compliant imported goods including Clothing, Textiles, Footwear, and Leather (CTFL) to enter South Africa.

Thezi Mabuza, who serves as an Acting National Consumer Commissioner, said that this judgment is welcomed by NCC, adding, "We believe that it clears up the confusion that surrounded both the Compliance Notice where and when the goods can be labeled," SA News reported.

"I want to remind importers that it is their responsibility to ensure that their goods do comply with the CPA," he continued. "Where the goods are non-compliant, we will not hesitate to issue non-compliances instructing Importers to either return non-compliant goods to the country of origin or destroy them."

Non-compliant imported goods are those that don't meet the country's regulatory requirements and standards. For instance, it could violate regulations including incorrect labeling, counterfeit products, unsafe material or infringe intellectual property rights.

According to NCC, these non-compliant clothing, textiles, footwear, and leather imported goods damage the textile industry in the country, noting that last financial year the commission had issued more than 50 non-compliance notices to CTFL goods importers.

The non-compliant goods worth R18 million had returned or destroyed last year. Whenever non-compliant goods are identified by the authorities, there are several actions taken on the importer including seizure, penalties, revocation of permits, blacklisting, and so on.

Scoop Clothing is one such brand that was found importing non-compliant goods, hence NCC issued a Compliance Notice against the brand.

Scoop Clothing applied to the National Consumer Tribunal for review in response to the Compliance Notice and the brand was allowed to apply compliant labels to the imported goods.

However, NCC appealed the judgment and won the case against Scoop Clothing.

"It has always been the NCC's view that non-compliance cannot be rectified by allowing the importer to attach labels within the Republic," the commission said. "The High Court agreed with the NCC that imported goods can only be allowed into the Republic if they comply with the provisions of section 24, failure to comply means that goods must be returned to the country of origin or be destroyed."

NCC explained that the compliance notice doesn't mean that the importer can label non-compliant goods within the country and sell further.