Forwarder wants to see more benefit from ACM

After a year of operation, the SA Revenue Service (Sars) customs’ new automated cargo management (ACM) system may be working well for Sars, but it’s doing nothing for the industry, according to a spokesman for a major clearing and forwarding company. “A lot of time and money has been spent on digitising what was previously analogue documentation, but we’re still having to submit printed forms to shipping lines and the like to get cargo released,” he told FTW. He suggested that a suitable simile would be that it was like the emperor’s new clothes. “I don’t think it has lived up to its promise.” Neither does Dave Watts, consultant on maritime matters to the SA Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff). “I haven’t had intimate dealings with the system,” he said, “but the impression I have gained from others who are closely related to it, is that it isn’t working very well for the freight industry.” This contradicts the fanfare that accompanied the launch of ACM in 2011. Beyers Theron, Sars executive for customs modernisation, told FTW at the time that Sars had replaced its manifest acquittal system (MAS) with a revised ACM as part of a far-reaching customs modernisation programme – and it provided a range of benefits.” But industry voices are not convinced that that’s the case.