The international threat of terrorism has created a need for customs officials to balance security checks and the free flow of business, South African Revenue Service (Sars)commissioner Pravin Gordhan said on Wednesday.
In the United States, for example, there was a proposal that containers bound for there be cleared by their country of origin first.
”From a customs point of view, their concern is whether the container is used to move live bodies or weapons of mass destruction … ,” Gordhan said at a breakfast briefing of the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa.
Security was one of the key drivers of international trade — worth about $8,8-trillion — along with organised crime and money laundering.
This placed pressures on customs officials and because these threats had no national borders, regional cooperation was important, Gordhan said.
”You can’t tackle them on your own.”
Gordhan, who is also head of the World Customs Organisation (WCO), said increasing harmonisation and standardisation of requirements were necessary for global trade.
A framework of standards has been developed by the WCO to facilitate trade as well as eliminate the new risks associated with the global movement of goods.
The framework aims for one set of customs standards to be used internationally.
Its main elements are: advance electronic cargo information, a consistent risk management approach, the scanning or X-raying of outbound goods, and a set of defined benefits for businesses that meet security standards and best practices.
For this to be successful though, some countries would need assistance with capacity building.
About ”seven or eight” developed countries have given lists of about 30 countries they will be providing assistance to.
The European Union, the United Kingdom and the US had offered assistance on standardisation to South Africa, Gordhan said.
Sars, which was in charge of the country’s customs obligations, would recommend adoption of the Framework of Standards to the Minister of Finance, Gordhan said.
Measures taken in South Africa include the installation of consignment scanners at ports, extra customs officials, and the introduction of authorised economic operators (AEO).
AEOs would meet certain compliance and security requirements and would, for example, get preferential treatment if there was a terrorist event that limited the numbers of containers getting through to the US.
”We must find ways of identifying high risk consignments and preventing delays,” Gordhan said. – Sapa