Durban clears up customs backlog

THE EXPORT section at Durban customs has cleared up its backlog in the processing of bills of entry and has reported that the situation has returned to normal.
At the beginning of August it notified shipping lines and freight forwarders that the congestion had deteriorated, and new concessions had been introduced. These enabled shipping lines to process exports through their systems without the necessary export entries. This concession applied only in instances where export entries had been submitted to customs and where there was an urgent need for the full export documentary process to take place.
It was stated that Portnet and shipping lines did not have to concern themselves with whether or not an export entry had been submitted to customs. But a customs spokesperson told FTW this week that the backlog had been cleared up.