On-site Customs inspections get the nod

The new SA Revenue Service (Sars) project, aimed at on-premises container inspections, has been a great success since its implementation last September, according to Lee Narsey, IT specialist at SACD Freight in Durban, where the pilot scheme was based. This new procedure has seen a number of customs staff, under a customs team leader, moving from their office in the city centre to the depot. “This has greatly increased the number of inspections that customs have been able to attend to each day, rather than the couple of hours each morning they used to spend at the depot,” Narsey told FTW. “They have also had direct access to the Sars service manager inspection system through their I-pads when based at SACD. This has enabled them to do their inspections and finalise reports quickly, without the need to return to the office for further necessary information, which previously delayed large numbers of the inspections.” And, he added, time means money, and there have been benefits for both SACD and its clients from this shorter inspection timing. “Business has benefited from it big time, as it has made a substantial dent in the previous cost of containers standing on the f loor waiting a long time for inspection as it was under the old system.” Narsey also said that he understood that the new system of on-site inspection teams had been rolled out quietly to other depot premises. But FTW was unable to get confirmation of where and when from customs before our print deadline.