Western Cape-based wine and spirits exporting company Distell is among those calling for the “costly and cumbersome” SAD500 entry and Southern African Development Community (SADC) processes to be made available over the counter in Cape Town.
The company has lodged a non-tariff barrier (NTB) complaint pointing out that its wine exports to Zimbabwe are “disadvantageously delayed” either at the border or at the depot due to the time it takes for the release notification or for the stamped and signed SADC certificates.
A spokesperson for Distell explained that currently Distell loaded its bulk orders from Zimbabwe into tanktainers and drums, either from Monis in Paarl or Adam Tas in Stellenbosch, for road transportation to the neighbouring country.
“Currently, export documents can only be prepared by the freight forwarder immediately after the cargo is loaded as the final weight of the load has to be determined before the documentation can be submitted,” he said.
The procedure is that the tankers or drums have to be loaded “very early” on a Tuesday morning – usually two or three truckloads are loaded.
Distell then forwards the relevant documentation to its logistics service provider in Johannesburg which in turn processes the Customs entry via electronic data interchange (EDI).
It takes around two days, according to Distell, for the EDI release to be received after which the logistics service provider mails the notification to Distell and it in turn can arrange for the transporter to set off for the border.
The transporter then has the SADC certificate stamped at the border – which is also often subject to delays due to congestion or systems being down etc.
“Exporters need a far more cost-effective and efficient permanent solution to the SAD500 and SADC certificate process,” said the Distell spokesperson.
