Customs Inspection without Contact with Importer - The SA Experiment and iPod
THE South African Revenue Services (SARS) has modernised Customs operations with the ultimate aim to have the Customs inspection officer not to have any direct contact with the importer.
SARS' strategy is to move all imports into a pre-clearing situation whereby all the documentation is filed electronically and customs officials can work out at the point of entry if the container should be inspected further. They would use the Apple iPod devices to download the documentation and take a photograph of the container and its barcode. The information is then uploaded into the case file.
The Customs inspector does not make a decision there and then on whether the container can proceed, the decision is made by a customs officer located in a hub in another location who has sight of all the documentation. The system can also tell the customs officer if all the documentation has been completed correctly and if not, the trader can be informed immediately.
All the points of entry have wireless networks that allow the iPod- toting inspectors to move about from one container to another.