Customs has introduced several initiatives under the Customs Modernization Programme, such as Registration Licensing and Accreditation (RLA), Advance Payment Notifications (APN), VAT number verification, and new commercial invoice requirements, to mention a few.
These have been introduced with advance notifications, and Customs has repeatedly issued notices advising traders to comply with the requirements. In some instances, enforcement dates were extended several times, allowing traders to comply.
Warnings of possible penalties were also published through various channels, as well as warning letters issued to specific Customs clients.
Along with these new developments, Customs also identified other areas of concern such as unfinalized provisional payments, unattended Customs queries, and supporting documents not received.
Customs has, quite correctly, identified this as a concern, mainly due to officers having to follow up on historic cases rather than being utilized for current functions such as expediting releases, conducting inspections, and basically facilitating trade.
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