KenTrade has embarked on fast tracking functionalities in the National Electronic Single Window System (Kenya TradeNet System) to accommodate the growing demand of shifting towards paperless transactions as Covid 19 pandemic continues to bleed the logistics industry.
The system, which has now brought on board 37 Partner Government Agencies (PGA) and over 12,000 users is at an advanced stage of integration with the Integrated Customs Management Systems (iCMS), which seeks to replace the decade old Simba system,”
“We are moving towards completing integration with the customs system, we had challenges of course and hopefully once this is done we will be able to utilize cargo release module fully. This is what will eventually move us to paperless operations at the ports and various border points,” Amos Wangora KenTrade Chief Executive Officer said when he addressed a virtual meeting on effective utilization of e-commerce for trade facilitation in the era of COVID-19 held on 16th of this month.
KRA has been rolling out the iCMS in phases. The air cargo function went live in various airports across the country including Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on March 10, 2019. Express Shipping and Logistics (ESL) is among those who have been piloting iCMS for bulk customs clearance at the port of Mombasa.
KenTrade has also received a request to have the tax exemption certificates forms- PRO 1A and 1B processed through the online system, which are issued through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Processing of these certificates has been a tedious process. Once the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has authorized the exemption, the documentation has to be submitted to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) which can take up to 3 weeks before exemptions are finally granted.
The KenTrade is also processing duty remissions through the TradeNet system with current piloting on exemption with wheat before this functionality is fully utilized.
In May this year, KenTrade tested the IMO’s maritime single window system virtually. The exercise was supposed to take place in March this year but with the Covid 19 pandemic and requirement of social distance, this was not possible.
International Maritime Organization (IMO) Convention on Facilitation of Maritime Traffic known as FAL Convention, is a mandatory requirement for the national governments to introduce electronic information exchange between ships and ports that came into effect from 8 April 2019.
This is aimed at making cross-border trade simpler and the logistics chain more efficient, for the more than 10 billion tons of goods which are traded by sea annually across the globe.
“The new FAL Convention requirement for all Public Authorities to establish systems for the electronic exchange of information related to maritime transport marks a significant move in the maritime industry and ports towards a digital maritime world, reducing the administrative burden and increasing the efficiency of maritime trade and transport,” said IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim in an earlier statement.
KenTrade system has been automating the Marine Cargo Insurance (MCI), in a move to realize the result that was envisaged when the government directed all cargo to be insured locally.
“We have at least 27 insurance companies on board now,” Wangora said.
The overall performance in this class of insurance has significantly improved since the National Treasury directive to enforce Section 20 of the Insurance Act that came into effect on 1 January 2017.
Each of the nearly 40 general insurance underwriters and members of the Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) last year agreed to work with the Kenya TradeNet system information processing platform to relay all the marine cargo insurance and custom bonds to importers and the KRA.
KenTrade, according to Wangora has continuously brought more products on board in the Information for Trade in Kenya Portal (InfoTradeKE), which serves as a one-stop shop for information on trade-related procedures.
It is being implemented in partnership with TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The portal provides a step-by-step guide to foreign trade procedures from the user’s (exporter/importer) point of view, and not of the Government Agencies.
The development of the portal was in response to a gap identified in cargo clearance information among the trading community and the need to consolidate all the procedures into one portal accessible to all those involved in International Trade as prescribed by Article 1.2 WTO TFA. It seeks to improve Kenya’s competitiveness by providing real time import, export and transit information to the trading community.
KenTrade is also working on development of data warehousing and a business intelligence tool. The system, according to Wangora, has a huge amount of data on imports and exports that has not been utilized despite its significant importance in helping the industry in decision making.
“We need to be able to utilize this data and very soon we will be implementing a business intelligence tool that allows us to extract data and report to the port community,” Wangora said.
