CONTAINER EXAMINATIONS by Johannesburg customs officials are hitting both import and export boxes - and a situation which is affecting even the customs-approved ‘accredited’ agents, heads the list of complaints received by FTW. The problem, according to complainants, is that just too many correctly documented boxes are being examined. The delay while the examination takes place is forcing many to fork out a penalty, just to keep their containers on schedule. “State warehouses,” said one forwarder, “where, in my opinion, such examinations should take place and at the cost of the state, have all but ceased to exist. “Now private depots have to be used, which involve substantial amounts from stops, unpacks and examinations.” The storage charges and demurrage that are having to be paid are added to the normal costs of freight. Importers are able to pass on these additional costs. “This, however, is to the detriment of the ‘man in the street’,” said one forwarder, “and to that of the economy of the country as a whole.” Exporters, however, do not always have the same opportunity, the forwarders complained. Contract deadlines are being missed; letters of credit have to be re-negotiated; payment for goods is being delayed; shipping lines are raising ‘dead-freight’ (cargo booked but not carried) and airlines are threatening the same. Added to that, the reputation of SA exporters is stained with an “unreliable” rating, with some even losing export orders. The forwarders point to the fact that customs is continually bragging about how much revenue over budget they have achieved. But, they add, this obsession with revenue collection is doing nothing for their responsibility for trade facilitation. Accreditation seems to mean nothing, FTW was told. Random and illogical stops especially on exports is the norm, claim forwarders. “And on export boxes,” said one, “where do they get their revenue from? There’s no duty or VAT, so it can only be from penalties.” But penalties for what?
