Exporters can avoid border delays due to incomplete paperwork by ensuring that they and their agents stay up to date with changes in regulations, says Duncan Bonnett, director of Africa House.“We advise our clients to pay attention to the bog-standard stuff, such as ensuring your paperwork is 100% correct.“With that you have an 80% chance that there will be no problem at the border posts.”Problems arise when the rules are changed, often without adequate notification.“Clients who have been exporting to a particular market in southern Africa for 15 years or more using the same paperwork find that a shipment is stopped because they need to also produce x, y and z documentation which was not needed before.” Ensuring that the paperwork is correct is particularly important for project cargo, where delays add to costs.“The better your paperwork is prepared, the less chance you have of getting stuck at the border.”Project planning should include meetings with customs officials at each border to ensure that they are prepared for the cargo and that all their requirements have been met.Then, ensure that someone is at the border with all the necessary paperwork when the cargo arrives, even when there has been electronic submission. “Customs responds quickly in most cases if you have the documents available to respond to their queries."While most reputable companies understand these dynamics we still advise shippers to double-check documents," he says.
