Commissioner for Customs and Excise and Another v Kemtek Imaging Systems Limited

Both the respondent (Kemtek Imaging Systems Ltd) and the second appellant (First Graphics (Pty) Ltd) supplied sensitised aluminium lithographic printing plates to the printing industry. First Graphics manufactured plates locally, while Kemtek imported rolls of photosensitised emulsion on aluminium substrates which were later decurled, trimmed and cut into individual lithographic plates in South Africa. The Commissioner for Customs and Excise classified the imported rolls under tariff heading 37.01 of Schedule 1 to the Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964, attracting a 15% customs duty. Kemtek appealed this determination to the Transvaal Provincial Division, which held that the goods should instead be classified under tariff heading 37.02 (photographic film in rolls), attracting no duty. The Commissioner and First Graphics then appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal was upheld with costs, including the costs of two counsel. The order of the Transvaal Provincial Division was set aside and replaced with an order dismissing Kemtek’s appeal against the Commissioner’s classification.

The case is significant for South African customs law as it clarifies the proper interpretation of tariff headings in Schedule 1 to the Customs and Excise Act, particularly the distinction between photographic plates and photographic film. It affirms that classification depends on the intrinsic nature of the goods rather than their form at importation, and it reinforces established principles of statutory and tariff interpretation, including reliance on headings, notes, explanatory materials, and linguistic consistency within the same enactment.