The UK P&I Club’s correspondents in Egypt, Middle East Survey & Control Office (MESCO), inform about the new Customs Law which has come into effect in Egypt by November 12.
Specifically, the new law incorporates and amends the rules and procedures of the old law, Law no. 66 for the year 1963. The old law and the customs exemptions law no. 186 for the year 1986, have therefore been revoked.
The UK P&I Club summarizes the new key provisions of the new law herebelow:
- The new Customs Law reduces the number of documents exporters and importers have to submit to the Egyptian Customs Authorities (“ECA”) from 11 under the old law, to 6. Soft copies of the documents are now also acceptable.
- To reduce corruption, a risk management system is introduced to control the release of goods in accordance with established rules. Customs procedures will be expedited and simplified. Settlement of customs dues in monthly instalments has been introduced for imports of machinery and industrial equipment and to production lines to encourage growth in the manufacturing sector.
- New provisions for prior clearance of goods – which was only discreetly available under the old law for major regular customer – are introduced.
- New regulations for Customs procedures will lead to a reduction in the high number of Ministerial decrees (by law) issued by officials to organize the daily activities of the Customs Authority.
- Articles 51-57 introduce for the first time the work of Customs Clearance Agents, defining their role, setting controls for their practice and implementing their authority, as well as setting out the penalties they may impose when dealing with violations.
- The previous four-month period for Owners of unclaimed goods to reclaim their goods has been reduced to just one month. After this period, the ECA shall have the right to sell the goods or assign them to any government authority or agency without charge.
- Article 39 requires the importer or his agent to present documents relating to the goods to the Customs Authority before the goods are shipped so that the goods can be marked with an initial customs registration number. This initial registration number must be notified to the shipper for it to be inserted into all shipping documents for any goods imported, failing which, the goods will not be allowed to be discharged at Egyptian ports, and will have to be re-shipped elsewhere at the expense of the carrier. This Article ignores the fact that many shipments, when originally shipped to any port, were not destined for a specific party. The receiver could be designated or specified during the voyage.
- The new law emphasizes the carrier’s responsibility for validating the description of the goods entrusted to them for carriage and makes the carrier a primary responsible party should there be any discrepancy in the description following an inspection of the cargo. This seems to be unjust and impractical in cases of containerized cargoes, since containers are stuffed by the shippers without any supervision or intervention by the carrier. The shipper and the cargo interests should therefore be solely liable for any inaccuracy in the cargo’s description. The new law also provides that the carrier shall be liable for any damage to seals affixed on containers and bear the risks associated with the discharge and/or storage of containers at yards other than yards designated by the Customs.
- The most controversial provision in the new law however is if the importer fails to complete the customs’ formalities to clear out the cargo, the carrier shall become liable for re-shipping the goods or dispose of them at the carrier’s own expense.
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