28
MODERN QUARRYING
January - February 2014
FACE TO FACEWITH
ASPASA
D
iscussing the Aspasa vs SARS
diesel rebate dispute, Pienaar
says that following the launch
of the High Court proceed-
ings contesting the SARS interpretation of
Note 6 (f) (iv) of Item 870.04 of Schedule 6
of the Customs and Excise Act, 91 of 1965,
the Commissioner has enacted amend-
ments to Note 6.
In terms of Notice 9 R997 published
in Government Gazette No 37150 dated
13 December 2013, Note 6 (f ) (iv) was
replaced with the following: ‘The refund
of levies in respect of mining of sand,
stone, rock, soil (other than topsoil),
clay, gravel and limestone applies only if
mined from a quarry’.
The same notice also addressed
Note 6 (f ) (iv) (cc) and substituted it with
the following:‘Operations for the recovery
of minerals being mined for those miner-
als including the recovery of salts but not
including any post-recovery or post-min-
ing processing of these minerals’.
The amendments to Note 6 were
made retrospective to 1 January 2011.
A further amendment of Note 6
was enacted in Note R999 in the same
Government Gazette. This amendment
deals with the logbook requirement. It
is important to ensure that the require-
ments listed in Note 6 to item 620.04 must
be met to allow claiming the refunds.
“Over the last two years a substantial
number of Aspasa members have been
subjected to audits by SARS officials, audit-
ing inter-alia their diesel refund claims,”
Pienaar says. “In most, if not all instances,
SARS disallowed these refund claims fol-
lowing the audits, relying on the exclusion
in Note 6 (f) (iv) on the basis that the aggre-
gate mined was sold into the construction
industry, and not seen as a mineral.
“The amendment clarifies the mem-
ber’s entitlement to partake in the diesel
refund scheme. However, in a number
of instances, members may have paid
amounts demanded following the audits
and demands received from SARS,” he
explains. “In a number of instances mem-
bers have utilised the dispute resolution
mechanisms to dispute liability and in
certain instances these matters are still
unresolved. All these matters need to be
addressed with SARS in an attempt to
resolve the disputes without the need for
further counteraction.
“As alluded to in the past, although
the activities qualify for the diesel refund
scheme, members must ensure compli-
ance with the notes to Item 670.06,” he
stresses. “We urge members to check and
where necessary to conduct audits on
compliance. Non-compliance with record
keeping can lead to the disallowance of
the refunds claimed.
The year has started off at a rapid pace for the Aggregate and Sand
Producers Association of Southern Africa (Aspasa), with some success
already achieved in the diesel rebate dispute. There is ongoing con-
cern about the issue of illegal mining, sound environmental manage-
ment and bogus mining consultants, and
Modern Quarrying
talks
to Aspasa director Nico Pienaar in this regard.
“We believe that we have achieved
some benefit for our members,” Pienaar
tells
MQ
. “The next problem raising its
head is air quality demands from the
Department of Environment. We have
spoken to our attorney and will take this
further shortly. We are planning work-
shops in Gauteng, Cape Town and KZN to
cover the diesel rebate issue, the Royalty
Act and other financial or tax concerns
companies may be experiencing.”
Environmental responsibility
Aggregate quarries should leave little
negative impact on the environmen-
tal through any stage of an operation,
from set-up to final rehabilitation, with
stringent legislation placing a heavy
compliance onus on operators. All too
often, however, even environmentally-
conscious companies fall foul of these
requirements, mostly due to the sheer
administrative intensity of managing
environmental systems.
Aspasa has taken proactive steps to
assist member companies to more easily
comply with these requirements through
the publication of user-friendly environ-
mental management guidelines.
The all-in-one reference ‘Environ
mental Management of Quarries:
Development, Operation and Rehabi
litation guidelines for southern African
quarries’, assists in the management of
Aspasa adds membership value
Fighting the fight: Aspasa attorney Freek van
Rooyen, partner at Shepstone & Wylie Attorneys.
As alluded to in the past, although the activities qualify for the
diesel refund scheme, members must ensure compliance with
the notes to Item 670.06. Aspasa members are urged to check
and where necessary to conduct audits on compliance. Non-
compliance with record keeping can lead to the disallowance
of the refunds claimed.
