The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority has cornered fuel dealers
who used to divert the product to the black market by adopting the Electronic
Cargo Tracking System (ECTS) which tracks fuel tankers to their indicated
destinations.
Some of the dealers have since chickened out, leading to
the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (NOIC) recording declining figures on
those requesting the product.
ECTS has managed to reduce cases of diversion of fuel from
the NOIC depots, transit fraud and the dumping of illegal fuel imports on the
domestic market.
Speaking during the official launch of the tracking system
on Friday, Zimra Commissioner-General Ms Faith Mazani said she was confident
that the cargo tracking system would go a long way in reducing the cost of
doing business and promote trade.
“Fuel withdrawal from NOIC, Msasa Depot purported to be for
export reduced greatly after the introduction of electronic sealing,” she said.
“Before the introduction of the system in 2016, 2 320 trucks withdrew fuel for
export, but the figure reduced to 942 in 2017 and further went down to 162 in
2018.
“ECTS has yielded positive results, which have been felt in
the market, notably the four trucks intercepted at Chirundu Boarder Post after
it was discovered that they had tampered with the seals and replaced the fuel
they were carrying with water. The trucks were seized and the offender was
persecuted.
Comm-Gen Mazani said the importation of fuel which had
reached record highs through the Kazungula Border Post abruptly stopped when
the electronic system was extended to that frontier, indicating the existence
of smuggling rackets.
“The importation of fuel which had so much increased
through Kazungula abruptly stopped when
electronic sealing was extended to that border, pointing to a smuggling
syndicate that started using that port of entry,” she said.
Comm-Gen Mazanhi said the adoption of the new system saved
clearance time for the trucks because those that were electronically sealed
were no longer subjected to physical examination and scanning, thereby
improving the turnaround times for cargo movement.
“Electronically sealed trucks are no longer being subjected
to physical examination and scanning, thereby improving the turnaround times of
movement of cargo, facilitating trade and reducing the manpower needed for
inspection,” she said.
“Revenues from excise duty on fuels like petrol and diesel
also increased from ZWL$ 490 000 in 2017 to ZWL$539 000 in 2018. This was
despite the fact that during the period under review the rates of duty had
actually been reduced.”
Comm-Gen Mazani said the electronic cargo tracking system
involved the use of electronic seals device which were attached to the transit
cargo and uses geo-fencing technology.
“The monitoring provided by ECTS is real time and the
sealed cargo will constantly be under the ECTS control room radar throughout
the geo-fenced route,” she said. “The electronic device sealed to the
transiting cargo is linked to the control room and reports any violations or
any tampering.
“Any violation and tampering alarms are promptly attended
to by the stand-by Zimra Reaction Teams for corrective action, which may
involve penalties or seizure of the cargo depending on gravity of the offence.”
The ECTS system tracks and monitors transit cargo from the
point of entry into Zimbabwe to the point of exit using electronic seals
attached to the cargo, covering containerised and break bulk cargo, as well as
fuel tankers. Herald
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