(DTIS) Update, Volume 1 – Main report - Enhanced Integrated ...

There are still frequent disputes over valuation in commercial transactions. More than 95% ofdisputes on matters of customs duties and adjustments relate to the value of the goods. OBRrecords indicate an average of 200 disputed statements per month on an average total of 2,500declarations per month. There could be better cooperation between OBR and SGS (the preshipmentinspection company contracted by the government for inspection of the quantities andvalues), especially concerning the sharing of valuation databases.The use of a pre-shipment inspection (PSI) company with responsibility to monitor weight, volumeand values for imports is well established in Burundi, but could be improved. As part of tradefacilitation, the role of such surveillance companies is frequently questioned, as they are oftenconsidered by many operators as an unnecessary and slowing step in the logistic chain, whilerepresenting a non-negligible cost. It is true that in some countries, the cost of the intervention ofsurveyors and public organizations involved in quality control can represent up to 3% of the CIF value ofgoods. In the case of Burundi, the costs are reasonable (1 % of CIF value) and the added value broughtby the pre-shipment’s control of quality, quantity and value is a real asset for a sound management offoreign trade flows. The role of SGS is not really challenged by importers, though there is some criticismof practical difficulties and delays that are experienced worldwide to perform pre-shipment inspection.Some areas of the world are poorly covered by SGS agents and the pre-inspection system should bebetter designed to suit the needs of small traders, mostly originating from the informal sector, buyinggoods in Dubai, China or India. SGS procedures could also be adapted to cope with the challenge posedby control in Burundi’s neighboring countries, since sometimes the goods travel faster than thedocuments. The figures gathered by SGS on behalf of the authorities in charge of trade and revenuecollection could also be systematically used for cross examination with the figures published by the otherintermediaries in the import and export chain, i.e. BRB, OBR , the commercial banks and the ministry oftrade .7.3 Clearing and Forwarding AgentsThe other logistics service sector where Burundian operators only play a marginal or local role isin clearing and forwarding. Clearing and forwarding agents are an indispensable community ininternational trade. They are the ones who link the various components of international supply chains,including shipping lines, port operators, border agencies, trucking and railway services, and shippers.How the clearing and forwarding services are organized and how efficiently they work is critical to theoverall performance of a country's logistics system.The East Africa region has a well established and large clearing and forwarding industry. Notsurprisingly, the largest numbers of registered agents are in Kenya and Tanzania, followed by Uganda.The numbers in Rwanda and Burundi are smaller because of the size of these markets, with just overforty agents registered in Burundi in 2011, about a third of the number in Rwanda. In the case ofBurundi, only a few international firms are active in the local market, such as Kuehne & Nagel and SDV,and the majority of firms tend to be small. As such, these firms, even the largest ones, typically have towork with clearing and forwarding firms in neighboring countries, especially in Tanzania. The foreignfirms handle and manage a significant part of Burundi international trade logistics. A sample of Burundishipments that passed through the port of Dar es Salaam between October and December 2008 showedthat there were just over thirty Tanzanian and foreign clearing and forwarding firms handling Burundiconsignments. However there was still a lot of concentration as the top ten agents handled more thanthree quarters of all consignments, with the largest agent handling over a quarter of all cargo.Ultimately therefore, clearing and forwarding services in Burundi are in a position similar to otherlogistics services; such as trucking, in that they have to collaborate and rely on service providers in themain transit countries, particularly Tanzania. The prospects to improve performance, reduce costs and108 / 153