Customs puts single bond on the agenda

In the interests of streamlining Customs procedures in South Africa, there’s a big initiative from Customs to introduce a single bond rather than the variety of bonds required for different purposes. Currently, if a customer wants to move goods within each port, they need to open up an account at each port and have a deferment bond. The idea now is to introduce a system that would cut down the need for a different guarantee in each port and each customer would now hold one national bond. This single bond would encompass warehouse guarantees, road bonds and others. And while this would be advantageous for Customs, practically speaking there are different views. The feeling is that this may benefit larger players while smaller players would come unstuck because it would affect their cash flow capability. “At the moment they have different accounts at different ports, which means they have different payment dates and can therefore use the money as it comes in to pay other accounts. With only one national bond it could affect their cash flow,” says Lombard Insurance’s Dean Burscough. “If they miss a payment date there are strict penalties.” Customs has been talking about the proposal for a few years. “Practically they can’t implement it immediately, but it’s now on the agenda and could be introduced in a few years’ time,” says Lombard’s Francis Kingston.