Customs addresses delays following demand for original invoices

A WARNING is out in the forwarding sector - when applying for clearance beware of omitting invoices from multiple invoice consignments.
Customs shows no leniency to importers where invoices have been omitted, and are inclined to impose the maximum permissible penalties, said the latest Safcor newsletter - suggesting the wisdom of persuading overseas suppliers to provide detailed packing lists for SA-bound consignments. These are vital for ensuring that wharfage payments on seafreight imports are minimised, according to Safcor, and allow clearing and forwarding staff to reconcile available invoices with goods actually shipped.
Edward Little, executive director of SAAFF (SA Association of Freight Forwarders), links this warning to another prominent demand of Customs at the moment - original invoices only.
He sees an element of logic in this - checking for alterations (some of which may be fraudulent) is easier on originals. It doesn't show up as clearly on a photocopy or facsimile, he said, and it's therefore too easy to doctor these.
But SAAFF has raised the matter with Customs.
The problem, as SAAFF sees it is: How can we get the original invoices any quicker? asked Little.
This is especially pertinent when talking air cargo.
This presents a problem, said Little, when the original invoices are coming on the same plane as the goods. That means a wait for the original invoices before you can clear your goods. It also means that you can't pre-clear.
If you can't pre-clear, then you face all the demerits of: airlines needing extended storage space; the importer facing more storage charges; and the lethal problem of more chance of pilferage.
Customs is currently looking into the matter, Little added.
While Customs director Stoffel van Rensburg pointed FTW to audit specialist Coenie Basson for more detailed comment on the pros-and-cons of original and omitted invoices he was unavailable for comment before going to press.