Complaint

Complaint number
NTB-000-748  
NTB Type
2.10. Inadequate or unreasonable customs procedures and charges  
Complaint
There is congestion at Chirundu border as a result of the attached notice which was issued by Zambia Revenue Authority The notice advised Zambian Agents that starting 1 May 2017 no truck shall enter the Zambian scanner without the Zambian bill of entry (stamped or not stamped). Fast lane trucks must not exit the border without having the entry registered.

Below is a report from our team on the ground-

Challenges we have noticed today 09 May 2017 are that,
• It has led to chaos on the Zambian side where some trucks have arrived not registered and have clogged trucks on the queue to the scanner. Some trucks are forced to park until these trucks have been registered because there is nowhere they can move to.
• ZIMRA is not aware and were not prepared for this, although I met the bonds office and had a conversation about this before 1 May they were waiting for an official document from their colleagues which never came until yesterday when ZRA informed ZIMRA that this is the development on the Zambian side.
• Zambian importers/agents who have outstanding issues with customs or waiting for clearance instructions (agent & importer) have affected trucks which arrives while these issues are still pending, therefore trucks for these importers/agents will not be cleared and will block other trucks which were precleared leading to delays.
• Some transporters not preclearing the loads hence leading to chaos at the scanner.
• No parking space before trucks reach the scanner, only 20 trucks are accommodated there thereby leading to a queue/congestion on the Zimbabwean side.
• Transit trucks getting late while on the queue leading to late acquittal issues.

I checked on the queue (Zim side) and noticed that,
• There are 67 trucks queuing from the ZIMRA gate to Shashe area
• The queue is 1.7km long
• At the Zambian scanner trucks which are there are less than 25.
• 95% of trucks on the queue are high risk (those that pass through the scanner).  
Status note
On 25 January 2018, Zambia Focal Point reported that The requirement was now being well managed and the congestion it could have caused had been eliminated. The NTb is therefore resolved.  
Progress update note
During the SADC Sub Committee Meeting on Trade facilitation held on 17-18 May 2017, Zambia reported that all trucks carrying correct documentation had been cleared. Zambia Focal Point undertook to provide further updates regarding to remaining trucks at the border.  
Policy or regulatory NTB
No 
Location
Zambia: Chirundu (Border post)  
Reporting Country or Region
Zambia  
Country specific trade issue
No  
Date of incident
2017-05-03  
Status
Resolved  
Date of resolution
2018-01-25  
Product Description
All products


 
Total value
0  
Date reported
2017-05-09 12:30  
Modified
2018-02-08 23:20