A Durban-based importer
is fuming about container
stop-and-checks at the Port
of Durban.
Mike Charlton-Jones of
Century Clocks told FTW
that the shipping line’s charge
involved in this stoppage
by Border Police – recently
empowered for unknown
reasons to effectively duplicate
the activities of customs at
the port – will be a total of
R12 800 purely for the sixday
overstay. “This happened
twice in one month,” he added,
“amounting to R25 600 –
which we cannot recover.
“As this is on a container load
of our branded product imports
that cost us R15 000 for the full
freight rate,” he added, “it just
about doubles our transport
cost. It’s out of all proportion.
Like R8 000 for a 40-foot
(12-metre) container unpack
and repack. We unpack a 40ft
within three hours.”
Century Clocks’ case is
particularly worrisome where
the delays are concerned, being
about one week on average.
Said Charlton-Jones: “Because
of this delay, we are having to
cancel invoices, like R30 000
for delivery to a major store
chain, and others will follow.
This is a lost sale and the chain
will mark it down negatively as
a non-delivery. This in itself has
consequences for us.”
And it’s not as though
Century Clocks is an unknown
importer. The company is
a regular importer of about
four containers a month.
And, from a custom’s risk
assessment point of view, this
should have put the company
on the approved importers list,
although Charlton-Jones is
not sure why this has not been
handled by his clearing agent.
Nonetheless, it shows that
the Border Police are working
purely on a random stoppage
basis, without taking into
account the status of the
importer concerned.
Which again raises the
question of why the Border
Police are there in the first
place. The rather wishy-washy
reasoning that Customs
checks for duty purposes
while the police check for
criminal (like drugs and
firearms/explosives), doesn’t
really hold water. Customs is
continually boasting about its
successful seizure of drugs at
both the country’s ports and
airports. So why this latest
effort to double up on that
function?
“We have e-mailed the
Border Police twice,
explaining how these stops
affect us and if they are
aware of the costs
involved. However, no
courtesy of a reply.”
Also, Charlton-Jones is
adamant that shipping lines
should reveal “the full and
total costs of a transaction,
from the start to finish,
including the risk of things
going wrong”. In other words,
a full disclosure of possible
costs, including these Border
Police stoppages.
“We are unable to make
a sound business decision
on which company to select
without it,” Charlton-Jones
said. “We all believe there is a
total vagueness, and possible
intent of non-disclosure of
potential costs.
“We understand the
container stoppages are
out of their control and
necessary, but believe this
should not be at the expense
of the importer.”
Border police stoppages clock up punishing penalties
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