Mozambique relieves local transporters

Mozambique has reduced the transit bond fees and revised the list of exempted goods exported from Malawi from 40 to 144. This follows discussions between the Mozambican Government and the Malawi Government after trucks were piling up at the borders owing to the introduction of a transit bond system by Mozambique in April this year. During a press briefing that the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) held in conjunction with the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) and the Clearing and Forwarding Agents Association of Malawi (Cafaam), MRA commissioner of customs and excise Agness Katsonga noted that Mozambique had a bond requirement all along but it was not being enforced.

“With the introduction of the national single window in April 2013, the transit bonds were automated and enforced. However, although the Mozambican clearaing agents had been given adequate notice to put in
place the required bond guarantees they were not ready by implementation date,” she said. She observed that this was because conditions  such as the required collateral set up by banks and insurance companies among others for setting up the transit bond guarantees were too tough, and agents reduced from over 100 to 25. The piling of trucks at the borders led to delayed delivery of merchandise, raw materials and project equipment; high landed cost of various goods due to unofficial transit payments; loss of production; high transport costs due to
diversions and delayed realisation of forex due to delays in processing export transit approvals for goods shipping through Mozambique ports. Following the discussions that Malawi had with Mozambique, the transit bond fee
has been reduced from 100 percent to 20 percent for containerised goods and 35 percent for break bulk cargo.

CAFAAM Takes Part in MRA’s Virtual Trade Facilitation System Sensitization

The private sector has welcomed the introduction of COMESA Virtual Trade Facilitation System (CVTFS) in the country. The Indigenous Customs Clearing and Forwarding Association (ICCAFA) and the Clearing and Forwarding Agents Association of Malawi (CAFAAM) said this in Blantyre recently when MRA and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) conducted a sensitisation meeting on the system.

The two groups say the new innovation is timely as it will ensure goods’ security. The CVTFS, which is a regional cargo tracking system, comes into effect after MRA and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) signed an agreement for its establishment.

Opening the meeting on behalf of the Commissioner General, the Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr Fatch Valeta, said MRA is automating its services not only in Customs but also in other divisions.
“MRA is using technologies to advance trade facilitation. As we speak, the ASYCUDA World is up and running in 11 of our stations. The coming in of CVTFS is a sure way of reducing cost of doing business. On our side it means an end to physical escorts of goods in transit by Customs officers.

“We will now ably monitor such consignments of goods online and real time. Physical escorting of transit goods was straining us because we were short of staff most of the times,” he added.
Valeta further said that the system has provisions that any diversion by drivers will trigger alerts to the control centre, prompting swift corrective responses from MRA’s enforcement teams and Flexible Anti-Smuggling Teams (FAST). This, he said, assures the business sector of safety of their goods.

COMESA Group Financial Advisors Mr. Sandisiwe Ndlovu, said CVTFS was developed in line with the trade-bloc’s Protocol on Transit Trade and Transit Facilities and is able to integrate with other systems in order to achieve more transparency and control in the movement of national and international cargo.
The system was successfully launched and is operational in the DRC and that Zambia and Rwanda will follow in the next two months.