SAC organises Logistics Forum on Customs’ Export Facilitation Centre

The Shippers’ Academy Colombo (SAC) together with the Sri Lanka Shippers’ Council (SLSC) has organised a Logistics Forum on April 30, 2015, at the Sri Lanka Foundation, from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon, where two presentations by the Customs and EFC will be done to educate the export and the service community. They will explain the process and will discuss operational issues with the trade to further improve the service level.

The forum will be very useful for exporters, shipping, clearing house, wharf, transport and logistics companies.

In the last quarter of 2014, the Sri Lanka Customs Department initiated a new trade facilitation tool by providing Sri Lanka’s first Export Trade Facilitation Centre (EFC) at the port access road to enhance its automation process by reducing operational activities of exporters.

Under the E-Customs initiatives, the one-stop EFC was established so that the exporter now does not need to visit the Customs Department, unless otherwise there are special licensed products to process through the Customs export declaration.

The department has introduced electronic warranting, e-Cargo Dispatch Note, e-payment and e-terminal information. These processes have reduced the number of copies from 18 to one or two maximum.

In addition, the EFC further reduces documents, the number of movements of wharf representatives and customs officers, panel examinations, provide faster export clearance, boat note passing, operations and charges, etc. The Board of Investment (BoI) companies too can now pass the final port clearance at this location and avoid entering the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) to do the same operations.

The new processes, have reduced time, resources and taken away hidden costs, which many are not willing to talk about from the trade as they know they were doing the wrong process for many years by using speed money as a tool, which costs export companies dearly as petty cash.

For registration please contact: Tel 011 2392840/5588871 (Secretariat SLSC) Tel: 011 3560844/ 0773820703 (SAC).