What’s the UCR all about?

ALAN PEAT
ALTHOUGH THE unique consignment reference (UCR) has been a part of the SA export documentation scene for some time, FTW has had a number of queries from readers who want an explanation of exactly what it’s all about. The reason behind this magic number – devised by the World Customs Organisation (WCO) – is that paperless exports are fast becoming a reality for all. The fundamental consideration behind the UCR concept derives from the need for customs authorities around the globe to facilitate legitimate international trade, while, at the same time, introducing control instruments necessary for efficient and effective audit-based controls in the electronic environment. In the security and facilitation of the international trade supply chain, the WCO guidelines on advance cargo information (ACI Guidelines) envisages that the UCR will, initially, provide an opportunity to limit the amount of transactional information required to be presented to customs. This will enable them to carry out risk assessment prior to the importation of the goods. In the long-term, and in the context of authorised trader regimes and the authorised supply chain, the UCR has the capability to replace the traditional cargo and goods declarations and to provide or give access to the necessary data for the accomplishment of all obligations in a given international consignment. “However,” the WCO added, “this can only be contemplated by customs on the condition that the ‘end-to-end’ audit trail is complete. For this reason, the allocation of the UCR at source is deemed mandatory. The benefits listed by the WCO begin with the fact that the UCR enables the various information systems of a customs service and its trading partners to work together in the most effective way possible. If properly applied, it permits the information from the goods declaration to be joined with the manifest at the earliest stage in the customs process. In SA, the arrival of the UCR was marked by new fields being added to the DA550 export document – with all customs’ clients having to complete the new fields from August 2004, or having their entry rejected with the appropriate error message. Should a consignment/transaction be delivered to the importer in more than one stage, the UCR number must be exactly the same on each related DA550, its voucher of correction (VOC), and their continuation sheets.