ACM for roadfreight to be piloted soon

The Acquittal Cargo Manifest (ACM) for road freight seems to be the big buzzword at present with SA Revenue Service soon to launch pilot projects at several land borders. According to Michael Henning, general manager of Easyclear, one such pilot is scheduled for the Kopfontein border post between South Africa and Botswana where the ACM for road freight has been specifically highlighted. “Modernisation Phase 2 A, which is the uploading of supporting documents electronically, is also being done at this post. We have built tools into our product to ensure that this can all be done and our clients will now have a much quicker process when additional documents are required.” He says at Easyclear they keep pace with where Customs is going with the modernisation process. “It is only natural that we have to continuously upgrade our products and evolve with Customs. Our biggest teething problems to date have been around the training of Customs officials as well as the interpretation of the various training by the individuals.” Henning says while the problems being experienced around Modernisation Phase 2 A are being addressed by Customs, the organisation is not expecting the volume of calls received initially. “We are, however, very pleased when we see the effort and commitment from Customs to the entire process. At Kopfontein, for example, there has been major work done around improving infrastructure and training officials.” With the second phase of modernisation seeing more complex issues on the side of Customs, Henning said the phased approach had helped the industry adapt more easily to the changes. “We have overcome some major issues on the operations side of the business thanks to the open communication which allows for quick responses to challenges being experienced.”