Chairperson, I would like to express my thanks to all political parties and members of the committee who supported this legislation.
Hon Harris, you should really be reconsidering your position. You serve on the committee. If you were present, then why, out of all the members, are you the only one - the only one - who is so confused? There must be something wrong with your listening skills.
This year the Customs and Excise Act of 1964 will be 50 years old - 50 years old! It has not kept pace with the changes in the customs environment of balancing trade facilitation with control, as well as with the changes to the global trade environment in which business is conducted. There has been rapid and irreversible growth in the use of information technology and the exchange of electronic data.
This Customs and Excise Amendment Bill seeks to provide a sound, clear and logical legislative framework that replaces this old, archaic Act of 1964. It provides for the imposition, assessment, payment and recovery of customs duties. As most members have repeatedly mentioned this, we are saying this again in order to help the only hon member who is still confused. The Bill also creates a platform for a modern customs administration that plays a critical role within the context of international trade and tourism.
Effective customs control secures revenue recovery, facilitates legitimate trade and protects society at large. Unlike the hon Harris who actually espouses an ideology that says that as long as you get jobs, as long you get imports, even if those imports are illegal, even if those imports are ... [Interjections.] That is exactly what he was espousing here! He said that even if those imports come at the expense of our own customs, even when there is underdeclaration - something everybody has spoken about - it doesn't matter, as long as he gets those imports.