Symbol Technologies Africa today announced that it has reduced the South African list price of all its products, following the withdrawal by government of the ad valorem excise duty on technology products.
Officially gazetted on 23 April, the government notice R650 says: "The effect of this amendment is that the ad valorem excise duty on computer equipment has been withdrawn, with retrospective effect to 1 April 2003."
The scrapping of the duty is expected to save the hi-tech sector around R572 million in the next year, leading to price cuts for consumers down the line. The tax rate was between 5% and 6%, depending on the product.
Max Stone, country manager at Symbol Technologies Africa, says the list price in SA for the company's products previously included a 10% uplift on the US list price, to allow for freight and duty. With the duty no longer applied, Symbol Africa can reduce prices by 5%, passing the savings on to Symbol business partners and customers.
Symbol Technologies Africa distributes product exclusively via Scantec. As the removal of the ad valorem excise duty is effective from 1 April 2003, Scantec will only be able to offer the reduced list pricing on product brought into the country after this date, says Stone.
"We are very aware of the concerns our customers have regarding the cost of imported goods, so we believe that we have a moral obligation to immediately pass on the saving we gain from the removal of the excise duty on our products," says Stone. "This 5% reduction will benefit all our customers in SA, and it reinforces our commitment to our business partners."
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