Following the announcement of the South African government's crackdown on Shein, and Temu, an online petition has been launched in protest against the higher taxes set to be imposed on orders as of next month.
SARS has committed to taxing all clothing parcels with an import duty of 45% plus VAT from the 1st of July.
The petition on change.org.za says :
South Africans cannot afford this, we buy from Shein and Temu because we cannot afford clothes from local businesses, the point of Shein and Temu is affordability. SARS can increase the tax so quickly, yet they don’t do anything regarding serious issues in South Africa. Shein and Temu don’t only benefit consumers but local couriers as well. This is not fair on consumers, the government does not care about us citizens, they just want to eat up all of our money.
The petition, at the time of publishing this article, has 182 signatures.
Click on the link to view the petition in full :
https://www.change.org/p/petition-for-sars-not-to-increase-tax-on-temu-and-shein-orders
Shein Founded in China, in October 2008 as ZZKKO by entrepreneur Chris Xu, became the world's largest fashion retailer in 2022.
Temu, is an online marketplace operated by the Chinese e-commerce company PDD Holdings. Starting in July 2022,it offers heavily discounted consumer goods which are mostly shipped to consumers directly from China.
The government’s clampdown on the rules that have allowed retailers like Shein and Temu to bring products into the country at a lower cost than their competition, has been welcomed by textile companies and union representatives alike.
