Zambians maintain commitment to single customs bond

AFTER THE intervention of SA customs, last yearÕs disconcerting decision by Zambian customs authorities to impose a demand for a customs carriers licence from foreign hauliers has been suspended, according to Edward Little, executive director of SAAFF (SA Association of Freight Forwarders).
The added problem, he said, was that the licence would be accompanied by the need for SA truckers hauling to, or transiting, the country, to place a bond with Zambian customs in addition to that already deposited with SA customs.
The Road Freight Association (RFA) chief executive, Herman Lemmer, estimated that this could cost the SA trucking industry as much as R500-million - lodged in Zambia in US dollars.
This calculated from the number of overborder hauliers known to the RFA having to pay a bond of R180 000 per truck, AND per border post crossed. A multiplying effect which pushed the overall bond up to frightening levels and threatened to put the smaller trucking operations out of overborder business.
But the RFA communicated their concern about this directly to SA finance minister Trevor Manuel, requesting that ministerial-level dialogue take place to resolve this frightening cost.
The main argument used by SA Revenue Services (SARS) in these discussions hinged around the Southern African Development Community (SADC) protocol - the precursor to the SADC becoming a free trade area, with universal customs documentation and procedures.
"We sat down with SARS and pointed out that both countries had signed the protocol of agreement which confirmed the principle of a single bond," said RFA executive, Costa Pierides.
This effectively means that the bond lodged with SA customs by SA truckers was a sufficient guarantee of good faith to cover any customs duty or tax infringements in Zambia.
After some negotiation, the Zambian authorities finally accepted this argument.
"The Zambian bond is now in neutral," said Pierides. "When the SADC agreement is finalised, this sort of problem will fade away."