AS THE paperless trail becomes a reality, with Customs joining the electronic data interchange era, agents foresee potential problems. “We are delighted with the introduction of the Customs EDI system,” says managing director of Durban-based Synergy Freight, Trevor Wishart, “but an area of concern is the bonding of cargo using EDI.” He offers the following example to illustrate his point. Agent A clears cargo into a bond store, thereafter sending his customer a set of documents including the EDI Customs bill of entry. Without the knowledge of Agent A, Agent B is asked to attend to the ex bond entry using the information from the bill of entry in the client’s possession. Difficulties could occur if the bonding agent is not notified. Wishart’s concerns are: l If Agent A was relying on a lien taken against cargo under his control and release was obtained in this manner, agent A would lose his lien. l Rules of Accreditation may be breached in terms of record-keeping in the case of Agent A, who will still be reflecting the cargo as bonded. l Further complications could manifest themselves should an XRW (change of ownership) have been performed without the new owner paying the duty to Agent A or B and also have no contract with Agent A when the goods become time barred with customs. “This is an area of concern which I have raised with Customs and which should be brought to the attention of the freight industry. “My suggestion would be that bonded facilities should release cargo only upon authority from the agent who submitted the original documentation.”
