Exporters urged to join Reserve Bank pilot project

The South African Reserve Bank
has called for more participation
by exporters in Phase 2 of the
Electronic Monitoring and
Matching of Exports (EME) pilot
project.
Addressing members of the
Johannesburg chapter of the
Exporters’ Club of South Africa
last week, senior manager of the
Reserve Bank, Queen Mogane,
called on exporters to sign up for
the project, aimed at phasing out
Form 178.
“Signing up to this project
has much benefit for the exporter
as it not only allows for a more
streamlined process, but sees the
entire process being simplified
and computerised. It is part of
the initiative to do away with
paper-based and manual forms,”
said Mogane. “The Reserve
Bank is charged with ensuring
value does not leave the country
without being recompensated. It is
therefore important to match the
physical flow of goods (exporters)
out of the country with the flow
of funds (export proceeds or
receipts) into the country resulting
from the exports.”
Mogane said the project
already had several exporters on
board but there was much benefit
in more exporters joining the pilot
project.
“There have been challenges
in the process as many exporters
have been hesitant to apply for
the project as they are struggling
with the Unique Consignment
Reference (UCR) number and
therefore have not wanted to
participate.”
Closing the information gap
and explaining how the process
worked to large numbers of
exporters such as the Exporters
Club, she said, was one way of
putting the message across.
“Our aim is for exporters to
understand the benefit of joining
the project but also to explain
how it works.”
The EME project is based on
the UCR number, which must
correlate at all times.
“The SARB uses the unique
number to link the physical
export of goods with the receipt of payment for these exports.
This unique number must be
used when goods are cleared
through Customs and exactly
the same number must be used
when receiving payment for these
goods via the banking system.
It therefore follows that the
correct and accurate use of these
unique numbers is critical to the
electronic matching of exports
with receipts,” said Mogane.
To participate exporters need
to enter into an agreement with
the Reserve Bank, said Mogane.
“A signed copy of this agreement
between the exporter and the
bank must be submitted to the
bank via the authorised dealer
with other documentation.”