ACI must be provided before B/L is issued in Eypt
In order to keep the tax and customs reforms, and strive to simplify and to promote trade and investment procedures and rules of Egypt, and Egypt has launched a new 38, 2021 Treasury secretary, is to enact the law in order to clear the goods before shipment registration procedures, the introduction of import documents used in the electronic signature (electronic seal) and imported products new steps.
The implementation of the “Advanced Cargo Information (ACI) Declaration” at the ports of Egypt provides that for all imported Cargo, the consignee must first forecast the Cargo Information in the local system to obtain the ACI Number and provide it to the shipper. This (ACI) Number is required to be mandatory displayed on the bill of lading and manifest.The trial operation will start on April 1, 2021, and it will be compulsory from July 1, 2021 (both are arrival dates).
According to the regulations, if the ACI Number cannot be provided, the goods will be forcibly returned to the port of destination and may be fined. In such event, all responsibilities and expenses shall be borne by the shipper. The new rules will come into effect on April 1, 2021 (the date of arrival).
At present the shipping company PIL has issued a notice that the goods exported to Sokhna are required to provide Acinumber before the B/L is issued.
For the goods being shipped or in transit, please check the arrival information as soon as possible. If the arrival date is on or after April 1st, please contact the consignee to supplement the ACI Number, so as to avoid the return of the goods and the customs penalty. Starting from March 10, 2021 (sailing date), all orders to Egypt Sokhna must provide ACI Number, otherwise the orders cannot be released.
Remind again! Companies that have goods to export to Egypt should pay attention to coordinate with local importers and shipping companies in Egypt to complete registration on the platform, submit relevant information and obtain ACI number before the shipment of goods. ACI number will be applied to all shipping documents.
Concerning Egypt’s Minister of Finance Decree No. 38 of 2021
The main points of the Act are as follows:
Electronic documentation of imported goods is submitted to customs via a (single window) platform and then shipped to the country to obtain the initial customs registration number “ACID”.
Inform the importer of the “ACID” customs registration number which shall be recorded on the shipping document relating to the imported goods.
When registering customs data for the pre-registration system, electronic signatures are used in data entry and electronic registration of data and documents, including invoices.
Single Window System:
Egypt established the single window of foreign trade site https://www.nafeza.gov.eg, the site to participate in trade and transportation of the parties may submit unified information and files in a single window, in order to meet all the requirements of related to import and export of goods and transit.
Window system steps are as follows:
Submit the document and fill in the coding form
Set audit and inspection dates
Pay your fees electronically
Obtain a unified release license
ACI:
The service is a major component of the single-window system, which relies on basic data recording “suppliers, importers and imported goods” through window sites to obtain prior customs approval for imported goods. According to the customs risk system to decide whether to approve, if approved, the importer will be given a registration number of the initial customs ACID. This will form an important part of the documentation data sent by the supplier, and in the absence of such an initial reference number, the shipper will be forced to return the goods to the port of origin again at the cost of return.
ACI Implementation Date:
The pilot phase will be implemented from 1 April 2021 (for seaports only) and will be formally implemented on 1 July 2021
