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| National |
| New PSI firm processing over 2000 importer files |
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by
Denis Mzembe, 17 July 2003
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17:45:49
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Malawi’s new Pre-Shipment Services provider, Intertek Testing Services (ITS) has said it has now received a batch of over 2000 importer files from the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) previously in the hands of SGS whose contract with government ended on June 30.
The files were handed over between July 3 and July 10, Intertek’s Business Development Director David Jewell said on Thursday.
“All of the SGS files which were received in good order have been processed by our Blantyre Liaison Office. Some of these files required a second inspection as CRF’s had not been issued to close off the files.
“In other cases, importers called on us to organise a destination inspection which we were unable to progress until we had received the relevant importer file data from SGS via the MRA,” Jewell said.
He said ITS personnel have come in from the company’s offices in Nairobi, Johannesburg, Hamburg and London to assist locally-hired staff with the start-up.
“We are pleased with the quality of local staff and data entry in Blantyre is progressing normally,” Jewell said.
Meanwhile customs clearing agents, AMI / SDV, is undertaking destination inspection work for ITS in Malawi as well as inspection work on other contracts such as in Mozambique.
Destination inspections represent only 0.5% of inspection work undertaken by a Pre-shipment Inspection (PSI) company on a standard PSI contract, Jewell said.
“We believe that this should be the case with our present contract with the Government.
“AMI / SDV has served us well in the past and is used to working with us. Initial delays in organising destination inspections was the result of not having file (Inspection Order) details to hand. Without file details, we could not progress inspections inside or outside of Malawi. This situation is now under control,” he said.
With effect from 1st July, Importer Order Forms have been coming through from the Commercial Banks to Intertek “in the normal way and are being processed by Intertek in accordance with our contractual obligations” Jewell added.
The PSI procedures ITS has inherited can be bettered and “we have suggestions” to make to the MRA on how these improvements can be put in place. |
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