FILE PHOTO: Trucks await clearance at the Nimule yard, Tuesday, 7 September 2021 | Credit | Daniel Deng

The South Sudan Revenue Authority (SSRA) has directed all importers and exporters to appoint licensed customs clearing and forwarding agents directly, a move welcomed by clearing agents at Nimule border.

The directive, contained in a circular issued by the Commissioner General, requires every customs declaration to be supported by a digitally registered Power of Attorney from the importer or exporter.

The SSRA said the measure is intended to strengthen accountability in customs representation, prevent fraudulent intermediary practices, and protect government revenue by ensuring transactions are conducted through authorized channels.

The circular cites provisions of the Customs Service Act, 2013, including Section 180, which requires customs clearing agents to present validated authorization from the principal.

The directive also requires importers and exporters to make customs duties, taxes, and other statutory payments directly through their accounts or through their authorized licensed customs clearing agents.

It prohibits the handling or payment of customs duties by unlicensed intermediaries or unauthorized third parties.

The SSRA further directed licensed clearing agents not to share their electronic customs system credentials, saying access will be restricted to individual accounts and monitored through system audit logs.

The circular states that customs clearing agents and importers or exporters will share responsibility for fraudulent documentation, and warns that failure to comply may lead to administrative fines, suspension from the electronic customs system, licence revocation, or criminal prosecution.

The directive also allows importers to revoke the authority of a customs clearing agent by submitting written notice to the relevant customs authorities.

Silas Majok, chairperson of clearing agents at Nimule border, welcomed the directive, saying it would address challenges that have affected customs clearance procedures for years.

“For over 10 years, clearing agents in Nimule have faced a lot of issues in the clearing procedure which have affected the customs clearing procedures,” Majok told Eye Radio.

He said some individuals who are not licensed clearing agents have been operating as intermediaries in customs procedures.

“Those people have been engaged in issues of smuggling and forgery of documents (receipts), and this has been affecting the government in collections of revenues,” he said.

Majok said implementing the circular would help streamline customs operations and improve revenue collection at border points.

The SSRA has provided a 30-day transition period for importers and exporters to regularize their representation arrangements before full enforcement of the directive.