In a letter, “Update on the Introduction of Automated Part-Shipment Management at Land Border Posts” dated 29 November, Sars announced that the second phase of the Reporting of Conveyances and Goods (RCG) project involving part-shipment movements of goods across land borders wouldl be implemented on 07 December.
This will mainly impact road carriers, clearing agents and service providers/bureaus. Sars will be introducing a system change which will allow multiple trucks carrying a single consignment of goods (as cleared on a customs clearance declaration) to be electronically marked for arrival and exit at border posts.
Part-shipments normally occur where a single large consignment of goods, for reasons relating to size, volume or weight, needs to be transported across a land border in multiple truckloads.
Road carriers will need to indicate on their electronic Road Freight Manifests submitted to the RCG System that the cargo they are carrying is a part-shipment movement.
They will also need to indicate on the last manifest that it’s the final truck carrying the part-shipment.
Details of the applicable “Cargo Status Indicator” to be used for part-shipment reporting purposes can be found in the Message Implementation Guide (MIG) of the Customs Cargo Report (CUSCAR) as published at the bottom of the RCG webpage
The following statuses are to be used in the case of goods being carried under part-shipment: Status 5 = Part Shipment and Status 10 = Final Part of Part Shipment. All other consignments that are not being carried across the border as part-shipments need to be reported as 9 = Full Shipment.
Should the Cargo Status Indicator not be provided as 9 = Full Shipment for a single full consignment, the gate arrival process will not allow the manifest to be marked for arrival on the system and reporters must, therefore, ensure that they declare the cargo status correctly.
In the case of a consignment which has been released from a temporary storage facility (e.g. terminal, depot or warehouse) for export across a land border post, the individual trucks carrying the goods in part-shipment will be processed at the border as and when they arrive.
Electronic arrival and exit messages will be generated for the exporter/clearing agent and the carrier in respect of each truck.
Where a consignment of goods to be exported is under a “proceed to border” status, the trucks carrying the goods in part-shipment are required to be presented together at the same border post for arrival processing as the release status of the consignment is only communicated upon arrival of the full consignment. Each truck will then be processed individually and electronically across the border.
In cases where all the trucks (parts and final) are not presented together for arrival processing, the trucks will not be permitted to enter the Customs control area.
If any change takes place in respect of a previously communicated electronic Road Freight Manifest (eRFM) (e.g. a truck suffers mechanical failure and the goods are loaded onto another truck), the necessary amendment or cancellation must be submitted to RCG prior to the arrival of the truck(s) at the land border post.
Electronic part-shipment administration is applicable to import, transit and export cargo for which e-RFMs have been submitted.
An updated version of the Customs External Policy: Reporting of Conveyances and Goods (SC-CC-38) will be published on the RCG webpage in due course.
Sars announced that more information relating to the actual implementation, expected system down-time and related matters would be communicated prior to the release date.
It is Sars’ hope that this further measure to be introduced under the RCG project will result in tangible benefits by further reducing border transit times for legitimate trade.