Court orders Jack Huang’s company to pay NamRA N$49m

High Court Judge Esi Schimming-Chase has ordered Jack’s Trading (Pty) Ltd – majority owned by Chinese-born businessman Yuequan Jack Huang - to pay more than N$49 million in overdue customs duties related to the importation of Portland cement between 2012 and 2017.The ruling reinforces key legal principles governing customs compliance, the authority of customs officials, and the binding nature of declarations submitted through authorised clearing agents.The case arose after the directorate of customs and excise audited Jack’s Trading’s import records from January 2013 to December 2017. Then-acting commissioner for customs and excise, Jacqueline Gawanas, personally verified the audit findings. Although the audit report itself was not introduced as evidence, Gawanas confirmed its accuracy and authenticated the statutory declaration forms filed by the company’s clearing agent, Extreme Clearing Services – owned by Julius LaurentiusThe declarations named Jack’s Trading as the consignee of the imported cement and detailed quantities, values and other import data. Supporting documents generated through the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) further strengthened the state’s case, given the system’s international use and built-in safeguards for data integrity.Liability establishedThe central issue before the court was whether Jack’s Trading was liable, on a balance of probabilities, to pay the additional duties claimed by the state. The plaintiffs relied on Sections 41 and 51 of the Customs and Excise Act 20 of 1988, which make duty payments due upon the entry of goods into Namibia. Under Section 109, an importer is legally bound by the actions of its authorised clearing agent.The court found that Extreme Clearing Services acted within its authority and that its declarations were binding on Jack’s Trading. It dismissed the company’s challenge to Gawanas’s appointment as acting commissioner, ruling that her status had no bearing on the legality of the audit or the obligation to pay duties.“An audit at the behest of an acting commissioner does not affect the levying of duty, nor does it influence the time when duty becomes payable,” the judge said.Government notice upheldJack’s Trading had further argued that the duties were unlawfully imposed and that procedural flaws invalidated the notices issued against it. However, the court held that the duties were imposed under Government Notice No. 208 of 2012, which had been duly published and complied with administrative fairness standards.The judgment cited the Supreme Court’s Ohorongo Cement ruling, which confirmed the lawfulness of additional duties on imported goods.Digital evidence validatedThe company also questioned the reliability of computer-generated declarations. Judge Schimming-Chase rejected this argument, citing Section 5C of the Act, which gives evidential weight to electronic communications once their integrity is proven.Gawanas testified that she had personally verified the declarations produced via ASYCUDA, an internationally recognised customs system used in more than 90 countries.The court reaffirmed several principles of customs law, including that importers are bound by the actions of their agents; that duties become payable once goods enter Namibia; and that assessments made under valid government notices remain enforceable when statutory procedures are followed.It further held that challenges to the appointment of assessing officers do not nullify otherwise lawful assessments, and that electronic customs declarations carry full evidential weight once their reliability is established.Final orderHaving found that the state had proved its case, the court ordered Jack’s Trading to pay N$49,3 millio in additional duties to the Namibian Revenue Agency (NamRA). It confirmed the validity of the government notice establishing the duties and upheld the assessments based on the submitted declarations.The company was also ordered to pay the plaintiffs’ legal costs, including counsel’s fees.

Court orders Jack Huang’s company to pay NamRA N$49m

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-09

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Court orders Jack Huang’s company to pay NamRA N$49m

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-09

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