IT delay scuppers risk-based approach to LOAs

A delay in the upgrade of its IT system appears to be holding back efforts by the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) to introduce a risk-based approach (RBA) to the issuing of Letters of Authority (LOAs).
And it’s not through lack of trying on the part of the regulator. It’s about to issue its third tender for the upgrade in midJuly. The first was issued in November 2018 and the second in May to which no satisfactory responses were received. And without the IT upgrade,
the risk-based approach will remain in limbo. Delays in the issuing of LOAs – which provide proof of compliance with SA standards and without which Customs will not release goods – have been a bone of contention among importers for some time. In terms of the mandate
from the Department of Trade and Industry (dti), LOAs must be issued within 120 days. There appears to be general consensus that delays are down – but with plenty of room for improvement. Mark Saunders of the South African Domestic Appliances Association (Sada) told FTW
that the vast majority of LOAs in the electro-tech sector were now issued within 120 days, “but they’re all well over 90 days, falling in the band between 90 and 120." In his view LOAs should be issued within three to five days, “which is the norm in the likes of North America, Europe and Brazil and should be feasible if you have the necessary documents or certificates of conformity”. He concedes, however, that this would be unrealistic in South Africa. CEO Edward Mamadise said in February that his goal was to have no LOA applications outside the 120day period by April. FTW was awaiting comment from him when this issue went to print. “A key element of the RBA will be the acceptance of a
certificate of conformity that will be done both overseas and locally by approved conformity assessment bodies (CABs) before the goods are put to market,” founder of the EU Chamber of Commerce and Industry in South Africa, Stefan Sakoschek, told FTW. The next phase of the RBA will be to appoint third party CABs in the country of origin to issue certificates of conformity (COCs) which would then green-channel the LOA application process. But before any of that can happen, the IT system must
be upgraded – the estimated cost is around R300 million. The projected launch date for the RBA was December this year – but it’s now unlikely to happen before the first quarter of 2020. A possible solution until the IT system is upgraded – that would apply for imports – will be the appointment of third party companies like some of the larger international inspection bodies. “They have a lot of IT-based platforms and document databases that could be accessed via existing computers.”