Airfreight degroupage licences make headway

Alan Peat THERE ARE high hopes of getting the off-airport degroupage licensing issue settled by year-end, according to Hennie Marais, customs’ systems specialist. There are still, however, no distinct dates, he added, with certain procedures yet to be finalised. The various amendments to change the rules are still being worked on by customs’ legal boffins, Marais added. “They will also be preparing a green paper which will be circulated in the industry for comment,” he told FTW. “It all depends when that’s published.” However, Marais added, that year end date could still be achieved. That would be very welcome, Pam Cornish, MD of Eagle Global Logistics told FTW - with forwarders looking for licences having been kept waiting in limbo for almost two years. There had also been the threat that the current off-airport degroupage operations - who were called in some years ago to help out an overstacked degroupage facility in the airport - could also lose their operational rights. This when the new plans from Airports Company of SA (ACSA) for its airport cargo centre also seemed to suggest a monopoly degroupage facility in the new development. But this threat faded in a welter of objection from the industry - even supported in this case by customs, who expressed their approval of the operational procedure at the private sector degroupage centres outside the airport. Marais has promised FTW an update as soon as dates can be affixed to events