Common Regional Bond Guarantee
A regional customs bond guarantee would eliminate the avoidable administrative and financial costs that are associated with the current practice of nationally executed customs bond guarantees for transit traffic.
At present transporters transiting through one country to get to another need to take out a customs bond which is at least equal to the duty which would be payable on their cargo. When they prove that the cargo has actually left that customs territory, the bond is released. However, the process of releasing bonds takes time so large amounts of money are tied up in the system of national bonds. This, plus the fact that it costs money to issue a bond, means that the cost of transport is higher than it needs to be if a system were found that would replaced the national bond guarantee system.
SADC and COMESA are both working on the development of a regional customs bond. There are both slight and fundamental differences between the two systems under development and which are currently being piloted. The challenges are to convince smaller transporters and freight forwarders in the smaller countries that a regional bond system will be beneficial to them; and to harmonise the two systems so that a single regional bond system is implemented. If one country along a transport route operates a different bond guarantee system to that operated by its neghbours then the benefits of the regional systems are greatly reduced.