Ethiopia’s Customs Commission is reportedly beginning enforcement of much stricter timelines for removal of cargo from ports, according to an article in Addis Fortune. Beginning Dec. 10, importers must remove their goods from warehouse and pay any duties, taxes or fees within two weeks from the day they are entered, or otherwise face a penalty. Previously importers had two months. The change had been set to take effect Sept. 30 but was delayed to give time for importers to implement the change. According to the report, importers are concerned that they won’t have enough time to complete the entry process in time to remove their goods by the new two-week deadline.
Senegal customs authorities at the Port of Dakar are imposing “severe and unpredictable” fines on cargo shortfalls for bagged and bulk shipments, according to a Dec. 5 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Port authorities are disproportionately sanctioning “substantial shortage or excess of cargo recorded by their own surveyor,” according to a letter sent to the Swedish Club -- a marine insurance company -- by TCI Africa, an independent consultant to the marine insurance sector. The fines have “significantly increased over the last few weeks,” the Oct. 30 letter said. In one instance, a company was fined about $336,000 for mistakes on its cargo manifest, the report said. Dakar customs declarations “should be prepared carefully prior to berthing,” the report said.
Malawi customs agents will be offered accredited training as part of a collaboration launched Dec. 2 between the Malawi Revenue Authority and the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, according to a press release. The collaboration will “introduce a new licensing framework” for clearing agents and provide them with a training course and exam to ensure they can appropriately “facilitate trade” in line with Malawi regulations. The training, which will start in late 2020, will be mandatory for all customs clearing agents, the press release said. New requirements for customs officers will be “phased in over an adjustment period” to give agents “adequate time” to become licensed. The project will support Malawi’s efforts to implement the World Trade Organization’s Trade facilitation Agreement, which it ratified in 2017.
Kenya introduced several tax-related measures that may have direct and indirect impacts on traders and shippers, KPMG said in a Nov. 26 post. Several value-added tax measures broaden the scope of the definition of “supply of imported services” to people who may not be registered for VAT, the post said, and expand the scope of supplies subject to VAT to include goods purchased online. Kenya also introduced “expanded relief for goods exported from special economic zones” and a larger list of “supplies” exempt from VAT, including “plant, machinery and equipment” used with certain “plastics recycling plants,” as well as certain corn, flour and wheat products. Another measure expands the scope of taxable income of “non-resident ship owners” to include payments from “demurrage and detention of containers at a port,” KPMG said.
Turkey’s Ministry of Trade recently announced new customs guidelines about the agency’s procedures for “individual transactions” and “commercial transactions,” according to a Nov. 22 post on the Baker McKenzie International Trade Compliance Blog. The section on individual transactions provides “basic information” on procedures and exemptions, including those for vehicles imported without returns, temporarily imported vehicles, goods delivered through mail, special vehicles for “disabled persons,” household goods, cash and jewelry, the post said. The commercial transactions detail procedures and information on customs rules, operations, taxation and temporary storage of goods. The guidance is an attempt to “increase the efficiency and ease of customs operations,” Baker McKenzie said, and contains “simple and comprehensive instructions.”
Nigeria introduced an electronic export form on its trade monitoring system to replace the previous hard copy, KPMG said in a Nov. 1 post. The electronic form, e-Form NXP, is for use by exporters primarily in the oil and gas sector, the post said. Exporters can access the form with their tax identification number and a processing fee. Nigeria is giving exporters a 90-day transition period to use all hard copy forms before they will be canceled, KPMG said.
Kenya will set up warehouses in Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo to increase exports and fend off competition in its key export markets, according to an Oct. 12 report from The East African. The “elaborate strategy” is expected to smooth challenges that come with “cross-border transportation of goods,” the report said, and give Kenyan companies “easy access” to the Burundi market. Kenya is facing competition from Tanzania, Uganda, China, India and Saudi Arabia for exports to the Rwanda and Burundi markets, the report said.
Nigeria is no longer allowing imports and exports through its land borders, according to an Oct. 14 report by Ships and Ports. The country’s Customs comptroller-general, Hameed Ali, said goods can now only be shipped through the country’s air and sea ports, which will allow security agencies to scan all imports. Ali said the change is aimed at ensuring that only safe and “certified” goods enter Nigeria, the report said. When asked if the new measures violate Nigerian citizens’ access to international trade, Ali said “when it comes to security, all laws take back a seat (sic).”
Ghana will sign a textile stamp policy agreement with industry stakeholders to require “textile manufacturers, importers and traders” to attach approved stamps to textile prints before they are sold, according to an Oct. 10 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The stamps must bear “key security features,” the report said. The measure is aimed at curbing textile smuggling into Ghana, whose textile industry is marred by “counterfeiting, piracy and smuggling,” the report said. The tax will also help reduce tax evasion at ports and prevent “fake and pirated product dumping on the local market,” the HKTDC said.
Oman is creating a department to regulate the country’s e-commerce sector and curb sales of counterfeit goods, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said in an Oct. 8 report. The new agency, called the Electronic Commerce Department, will write regulations to monitor e-commerce websites, provide guidance to commercial websites, help organize “integrated commercial transactions” on open networks and help facilitate “the purchase and sale of goods and services via electronic networks,” the report said.