Electronic pilot project

ALAN PEAT
THE END of the SA Reserve Bank’s F178 - a document which requires considerable time and effort to process - has moved closer, with phase two of the customs/private sector pilot project on alternative export procedures getting under way.
Said Edward Little, adviser to the SA Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF): “The SARB, together with SA Revenue Service (SARS) and the commercial banks, have been running this initial pilot project - designed to see the discontinuation of the F178.
“Such has been its success so far that they would like to roll it out to a wider number of participants.”
Little called for any SAAFF members who wished to participate in this second phase of the project, which seeks to monitor exports and match the receipts of export proceeds electronically, to contact Rushdi Edries, the manager: information flow division of the SARB.
“The aim of the project,” Edries told FTW, “is to eventually replace the current system of administering the receipt of export proceeds done through the F178.”
And the current F178 administration is a relatively complex and time-consuming task.
It has to be completed in
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triplicate by the exporter/ freight agent every time an export leaves this country. The forms are taken to the exporter’s bank (authorised dealer) where the original is attested (stamped and signed) and returned with a copy. The bank retains a copy for control purposes.
Customs requires the original F178 as part of the essential export documentation without which the goods cannot leave the country - and they subsequently pass the form on to the exchange control department.
Apart from this, Edries added, authorised dealers are closed over weekends and public holidays - and often special arrangements must be made with customs to ensure that perishable goods are not delayed at SA ports pending the attestation of the F178. The same applies with goods destined north of the border.
The alternative system, however, does not rely on the completion of a Form F178.
This, according to Edries, has become possible due to developments in the information technology (IT) industry, and the parallel implementation of an enhanced system of reporting cross-border foreign exchange flows to the exchange control department by authorised dealers since October 1.
“The replacement system will be based on matching export information received from customs with the information submitted to the SARB by authorised dealers,” he added.
This alternative has been made possible by changes to the Bill of Entry Export/DA550 - which is required to be completed for all exports.
Four additional fields have been added to the DA550 to assist with the monitoring and matching exercise.
One of the fields requires the completion of a valid unique consignment reference (UCR) number on every DA550, Edries told FTW.
Furthermore, he added, every export consignment requires the generation of a different UCR number. This UCR number is used to link the information received from customs with the information received from authorised dealers.
“Exporters are required to quote the relevant UCR number to their banks whenever they receive funds or export proceeds in terms of a particular export consignment. Thus, the correct use of the UCR is critical to this exercise.”
“In the meantime, all organisations and companies not on the pilot project are required to comply with all the existing rules and regulations pertaining to exports and the completion of a Form F178 until further notice.”