‘Unacceptable’ Moz scanning charges draw WTO disapproval

DESPITE HIGH-LEVEL
lobbying, no final
government decision has
been made on appeals
against Mozambique’s
universal imposition of a
fee for electronic scanning
of all cargoes travelling
through the Port of Maputo
– charged whether cargo is
scanned or not.
According to Brenda
Horne, CEO of the Maputo
Corridor Logistics Initiative
(MCLI) – which is leading
the local opposition – the
scanning fee will impose
“what can only be described
as a tax” in excess of US$6-
million (R43.8-m) a year
on businesses using the
Maputo Corridor at current
port throughput levels.
But, she told FTW, after
a further four months
of negotiation with the
government, the problem
of this extra cost still
remained – seriously
impacting on freight costs
and delaying several major
future investments in
Maputo port by SA and
Mozambican industry.
The problem is that
Kudumba – the company
appointed by the
government to operate the
scanning procedure – has
imposed what is referred to
as “a service charge” on all
cargo passing through the
Port of Maputo, whether
scanned or not.
Effectively, all containers
in-and-out of the port
are levied with a scanning
charge, along with all the
other cargoes like bagged
products and bulk cargo.
The IMF and World
Bank have complained
at government level that
this scanning policy has
not followed international
standards and that charges
being imposed on all cargo
are “unprecedented and
unacceptable”.
Although the business
world has hit out at the
universal nature of scanning
charges in Mozambique,
it has no objection to the
basic concept of electronic
scanning, according to
Horne.
“Non-intrusive
cargo scanners are used
worldwide in ports by
customs authorities to
detect goods on which
customs duty would
otherwise not have been
paid,” she told FTW, “and,
therefore, they are welcome
in Mozambique.
“But, in only a very
small percentage of ports
are charges imposed on
customers – and then only
for containers which have
been actually scanned.”
And the normal
interpretation amongst
international port operators
is to scan only a random
selection of containers,
generally on pre-advice
from police or customs
authorities.