It’s all systems go for the implementation of Customs Modernisation Release 3 at Ficksburg this weekend. The implementation of a new Passenger Processing System (PPS) will also take place at Mahamba on the Swaziland border tomorrow (Saturday 16 June). We would like to draw your attention to the following:
1. The rollout of Release 3 will commence at 13:00 on Saturday 16 June 2012, with the system down until approximately 15:00. Trade can start submitting via EDI from 14:00 using the new BGM code for Ficksburg.
2. All declarations for Ficksburg should be submitted by 09:00 on Saturday 16 June 2012. All trucks destined for Ficksburg with consignments that have already been processed under the current system should arrive before 12:00 (noon) on Saturday.
Please note: During this period, declarations for emergency products, or perishable cargo, must be submitted as early as possible as all cargo processing closes at 13:00 on Saturday at Ficksburg.
3. All declarations that are submitted after 09:00 on Saturday and do not receive a result message within one hour, must be manually taken to the branch front-end on Saturday morning before 12:00 if entry is urgent or of high priority. However, the entire implementation of the new system should take place within a couple of hours on Saturday afternoon and trade should be ready to submit supporting documents from 15:00 onwards.
4. All other SACU border posts will continue to operate as normal over the weekend.
5. Deferment accounts:
Foreign Traders who currently have deferment facilities on the CCA system at Ficksburg will not be permitted to retain such facilities after the roll-out on 16 June 2012. Their current deferment account will be closed on 16 June 2012 and account holders will be expected to settle such accounts within seven days of the date of the final statement.
All other CCA deferment account holders at Ficksburg will also receive a final statement for transactions up to and including 16 June 2012. These statements must also be settled within seven days from the date of the statement.
Deferment accounts for South African Registered traders at Ficksburg will be re-created on the CAPE Import system. These accounts will be registered in accordance with the client’s original accounting details including the start, end and settlement dates previously assigned to the client.
6. A team of registration specialists will be on site at Ficksburg until Tuesday 19 June to help with trader/agent registration.
7. Traders/agents who do business at Ficksburg are also asked to take note:
A dedicated email address has been created for queries at Ficksburg – it is cargoficksburgbridge@sars.gov.za. Traders/agents are asked to please mail this address before sending their trucks to the border post, to check if the office is ready to receive them. You should get a response within 15 minutes. If not, you should mail Ncumisa Ndodana on nndodana@sars.gov.za. If you still do not have a response 15 minutes later, then escalate it to the Regional Customs Executive, Ashika Pillay on apillay@sars.gov.za
When arriving at these two border posts, the truck driver must present the manifest containing all the consignments (LRNs) conveyed on the vehicle at the entrance gate.
With all back-office processing now taking place in four centralised Hubs – and no longer at the border post – manual processing is expected to take much longer and ALL traders/agents doing business at the Ficksburg border post are encouraged to register for EDI as soon as possible.
Cash payments can be made at the border post, but it must be noted that the truck will not be allowed entry into the Customs Controlled area until the processing is completed and a “Proceed to border” message is received by the declarant – for manual clients either via email or in person and for EDI clients, via their system. The trader therefore has to make sure that the branch has successfully received the payment and verified it against the declaration to allow release of the “Proceed to Port” message.
8 Traders are also reminded that SARS’s Automated Cargo Management (ACM) system for road will also go live at Ficksburg at the same time. This means that all road hauliers who import / export cargo at Ficksburg should now submit manifests electronically via the ACM system. Road hauliers / carriers are urged to register for ACM as soon as possible as this will soon become mandatory. For more info on this, go to the ACM website: www.sars.gov.za/home
If there are any system issues during go-live, please contact your Bureaus first as they have existing escalation channels with SARS. However, if there are any operational issues that need to be dealt with urgently, we have made available on the Customs Modernisation website (www.sars.gov.za > Customs & Excise > Customs and Border Management > Customs Modernisation) a specific escalation process to be followed during and after the implementation