There is far too much uncertainty surrounding the scrap metal trade and the law governing it is severely outdated, an investigation into the Scrap Metal Unit has said.
“The law and the trade need to be completely revamped after consultation with key stakeholders. However, the Government needs to put interim measures in place as the trade is at a standstill while export is temporarily banned,” the report by accounting firm Ram & McRae says.
“There appears no consistent policy towards the trade with the Government opening and closing the trade at will. It is unclear why responsibility for the trade was transferred to the Central Housing and Planning Authority and why no Export Duty is paid under the Customs Act. In our opinion there is a high probability of revenue leakage but because of the inadequate reporting, any estimate is merely speculative,” the report, which was presented to Minister of Finance Winston Jordan in