All systems go for February 14 ACM launch

With the deadline looming for electronic submission of manifests to SA Revenue Service (Sars) by road transport operators, those who are unprepared stand to lose out in the competitive market for cross-border cargo movement. The automated cargo management (ACM) system is Sars’ automated solution for the receipt and processing of prescribed reports for international cargo imported to or exported from SA. It replaced the previous manifest acquittal system (MAS), which was decommissioned on May 6, 2011. In line with international practices, Sars requires that cargo be reported to it prior to arrival for the purposes of screening and risk assessment. Reports may only be submitted electronically to the ACM system by means of electronic data interchange (EDI) in the prescribed United Nations Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport (UN/Edifact) message standards. And failure to comply will force trucks to queue in the slow-moving ‘manual’ lane at the borders, while their EDIready counterparts promptly pass the controls. The first phase of the implementation involved manifests for cargo imported by sea and air last May, but road freight manifests for imports and exports – including the Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland (BLNS) members of the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) – will kick off on February 14, according to Gavin Kelly, technical and operations manager of the Road Freight Association (RFA). Although it was originally due to be implemented at the beginning of this year, Sars was “fantastically co-operative” about this, he told FTW. They heeded the RFA’s request that they not introduce it then, but rather wait until February/March to make sure that all the ports of entry had the technical equipment in place to handle the system. “The tentative date for going live on a trial run,” Kelly added, “is now February 14 at the Kopfontein border post with Botswana. “The idea is to implement ACM there, and clear up all the bugs before rolling it out after about a month to other border posts. Finally, when everything is running smoothly, it will be introduced at the major border posts, like Beitbridge.” The justification for the new system, according to Sars, is that it complies with the global benchmarks for a streamlined, but controlled, flow of cargo.