European Customs leniency as new security system kicks in

Exporters to Europe have been given a welcome breather following the January 1 introduction of a new Import Control System designed to beef up security. European authorities have indicated that no penalties will be implemented for late submission of documentation – at least for the first two months of the year – as shippers and shipping lines acclimatise to the new system. ICS requires that entry summary (ENS) declarations are submitted to the first airport or seaport of landing in the EU prior to arrival of any cargo destined for, or transiting the EU. The ENS declaration must be submitted on ocean shipments at least 24 hours prior to a vessel’s departure or on other modes within a specified period prior to the flight or vehicle’s arrival at the airport/ port of first landing. ICS is intended as another measure that will help increase the security of the global supply chain. “There have been some hitches on the European side,” Maritime Carrier Shipping’s Marc Frauendorf told FTW, “which is why they’ve agreed to a policy of leniency and will not impose penalties until all teething problems have been sorted out.” Agency branch manager in Gauteng, had a similar story to tell. “We haven’t had our first official vessel across yet but won’t have problems initially because of problems in Europe.” And according to Philip there’s been a good response from local shippers. “For the past few months we’ve been sending out a notice with every shipping instruction about the requirements and most shipping instructions are coming in in reasonable time – but it’s early days.” DAL has contracted a company in Germany to do an interface with customs to harmonise its systems. “We’ve supplied the information via our systems but because Customs is not ready on the other side we’re not able to fully test our systems and compatibility.” “As with any process,” says Jozef Ghysels, regional key accounts director for Safmarine in Antwerp, “there have been some issues going live in so many countries. “And the parties affected are not only customers and the respective customs organisations, but some third party EDI providers with whom Customs is working as the receiving or delivery box of the messages sent by the respective carriers. “We continue to emphasise to our customers the importance of submitting the shipping instructions on time, using the required description and also providing us with the HS6 code.” According to Ghysels, the authorities are enforcing the legislation except in those countries where there are still some technical issues on their side. “Flexibility towards us (and other carriers) is shown – but this is only in those specific cases where it can be demonstrated that all efforts and actions have been undertaken to supply the required data in the right format and within the said deadlines.” Ghysels says there is still no clarity on the level of penalties that are likely to be imposed for non compliance. “But in the initial period, Customs in all the countries we are dealing with is co-operating constructively to find solutions.” The new security system has been implemented in all 27 member states in the EU as well as Norway and Switzerland.