INTRODUCTION
Dear Media Practitioners
We have met here today to address some pertinent issues that have been raised and which have affected the roll out of the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS).
- INACCESSIBLE SYSTEM
For a few hours after deployment the system was generally inaccessible (screen shots available)
Answer: ICUMS has been online, accessible and in use since day one of its deployment
Remarks: This situation was remedied on Day 1
- IMPORTER TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (TIN) CHALLENGES
Information about the importer at the entry of his or her TIN should automatically populate for continual process of clearance. This is the basis for which one begins a declaration but unfortunately it has been fraught with challenges till this day.
Remarks: Though solutions have been attempted, this has become a recurring challenge of the ICUMS since its inception (Refer No. 16 of Takoradi report attached) leading to a manual solution of importer TIN recapture. It must be noted that this cannot be a solution for a digitized system.
Answer: TIN has been working since day one of its deployment with some level of challenges on the first day, but were resolved on 2 June, 2020.
- NO BENCHMARK FOR DELIVERY TIME
ICUMS per the ‘Trade Facilitation Agreement with Ghana Link’ has no SLA (Service Level Agreement) indicating process delivery times with which every other stakeholder can plan. Thus declarations can get locked up in the system for weeks with no benchmark for redress.
Remarks: Solutions have generally been on a ‘piecemeal’ approach. Declarants have had to approach the technical teams at the command center for solutions.
Answer: ICUMS is an end-to-end customs clearance system, which is not the case with the previous systems (PAARS and GCNet/GCMS), which had segmented Service Level Agreements (SLA). It is the expectation of GRA that by year-end, it will take 48 hours to clear cargo from date of cargo discharge to cargo release at sea ports, whilst it will take less time for air and land frontier operations.
- RESORT TO MANUAL PROCESSING
ICUMS as we speak has not been fully integrated with other players in the chain i.e. Terminals, Shipping Lines, Ground Handlers and some Courier stations. This has led to the re-emergence of manual processes of release to our chagrin
Answer: ICUMS is a fully integrated port community, single window and e-clearance system. At the moment, we have registered all Shipping Lines/Agents, Terminal Operators, Container Freight Stations, Licensed Customs House Agents, Freight Forwarders, Bonded Warehouses/Free Zones Operators and other port community players. We have enrolled in excess of 6,000 port community users. All processes are fully automated.
In the workaround for the management of BOEs that were started in the previous systems (PAARS, GCNet/GCMS), Customs notifies Shipping Lines/Agents and Freight Forwarders to issue Delivery Orders when duties have been confirmed paid.
- SECURITY
Consolidators (Break Bulk)
The back-end operations of one consolidator exposes the transactions of other consolidators in form and substance. Consolidator ‘A’, when he or she logs in is able to see the operations of other consolidators in real time.
Remarks: This is an anomaly because releases can intentionally or unintentionally done for whatever effect. For a superior system of this sort, confidentiality is key to trust.
Absence of Administrators Control
There are no administrative controls. The systems log-in architecture stops the administrator from having any oversight controls once a log-in credential has been created for the Assigns. (Refer No.12 of Takoradi report attached)
Remarks: This is a serious anomaly. The administrator must necessarily be able to view and effect audits of every single declaration done.
Answer: ICUMS has clear isolation of data and data privacy and this is strictly enforced. Transactions of one entity cannot be accessed by another agency.
In addition, there is clear control of work, such that even users in the same company are not able to see one others’ work unless assigned supervisor role. The administrators of a company can create, assign roles, suspend, revoke and delete a user.
- SYSTEM CALCULATOR CHALLENGES
There seems to be a huge problem with the computation of figures in ICUMS, and of particular interest is that of vehicle declarations. We also have noticed a trend of Customs Validated Duty Declaration Documents with figures which defy reason. Below are a few examples:
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- Wrong application of Exchange Rate.
Forex conversion for duty purposes requires a simple multiplication of the exchange rate by the figure in question. The product of this calculation should never be in dispute, but we have situations of botched calculations. Evidence abound.
