The true impact of
the country’s new
Customs bills on the
groupage industry
remains to be seen, according
to industry experts currently
scrutinising the rules and
regulations that will guide
the new legislation.
Most are in agreement
though that the bills and the
proposed rules published so
far appear to have missed
opportunities to clarify some
matters and address others
that are not addressed at all.
Examples of this include
clarification of the meaning
of the term “delivery” used in
the new Act, in particular as
it relates to what constitutes
delivery, as this impacts the
timing of the transfer of
control of uncleared cargo,
and the related responsibility
for duties and VAT.
“A matter that is of concern
to me, that does not seem
to be addressed, is the
movement of groupage cargo
within South Africa, where
the final destination on the
house bill of lading is within
South Africa but is different
from the final destination of
the ocean bill of lading,” said
one expert to whom FTW
spoke. “As an example, inside
an import container destined
for Durban there's cargo to be
delivered to Johannesburg.
The container must be
unpacked in a customslicensed
container depot
in Durban, and this would
typically be road hauled to
Johannesburg to a container
depot there for ultimate
release to the consignee upon
presentation of the customs
release notification.”
The consignee would
then process their bill of
entry in Johannesburg. This
movement is not specifically
covered in the Act, however
a suggestion has been made
that a removal in transit
(RIT) entry would be
required.
“This is not practically
feasible and would add
significant additional cost
to an already expensive
process, again making us less
competitive internationally
with higher input costs,” he
explained.
The need for this
additional entry is further
called into question when one
considers that the container
depots have all already
posted large guarantees with
customs to cover a scenario
should the cargo be released
in South Africa before it
is approved for release by
customs.
“So if cargo is moving
between licensed container
depots, operated by the same
licensee, and is properly
manifested and controlled, I
would propose that customs
is adequately protected,
without making the system
overly burdensome. If the
container depot operator
could use his depot code to
record the movement, this
could then be treated as an
“RIT” by customs, and the
manifests could be lodged
via EDI with customs similar
to the other depot EDI
messages,” he explained.
Most are in agreement
though that at present it is a
wait and see game.
“There are also some
proposed regulations that
are just not practically
possible or consistent
with international best
practice. The effect this
has on our ability to
remain internationally
competitive and act as a
hub into Africa cannot be
under-estimated, especially
when one considers
that our neighbours are
becoming more competitive
and attractive to our
international customers,”
said another source.
Ultimately most say the
process of scrutinising the
rules and regulations should
not be rushed and customs
should give due consideration
to the input of all role players.
CAPTION
What happens when an import container destined for Durban contains cargo to be delivered
to Johannnesburg?
