Facilitating payment of customs duties and taxes

Problem statement

Customs duties and taxes, as well as other fees and charges related to the clearance process, have to be paid for each individual import / or export transaction.
The majority of payments are still made in cash or by bank cheque by the person declaring goods to Customs. Depending on the value of the goods and the duty rate, the amount of duties, taxes and fees to be paid can be substantial. This poses a heavy logistic burden on the trader in terms of making the cash available and ensuring the secure transport of the cash.
Most importantly, however, cash payments provide an enabling environment for corruption, as they require a face-to-face encounter between the trader/broker and Customs for handing over the cash, making it difficult to differentiate between cash payments for duty collection or cash payments for “facilitation fees”.
Payments for individual transactions also increase the amount of bank charges, as these are charged not only on the amount but also per individual transaction. This additional cost and the administrative handling of each payment increase the cost of trading.

Possible solutions

The payment of duties, taxes and other fees can be facilitated by offering a choice of methods of making payment, including by electronic means, for duties, taxes and fees associated with the import, export and transit of goods across international borders by electronic means.
Another facilitation solution is the so-called Deferred duty/tax payment that can be offered to traders who have a significant volume of import declarations per month, in particular authorized traders and Customs brokers. Deferred payment increases the efficiency of payment handling and to reduce the bank charges associated with duty and tax payments.

Definition/Scope

Electronic duty/tax payment refers to the use of e-payment methods such as credit and debit cards, electronic funds transfer or online payments for the settlement of duties, taxes and fees associated with the clearance formalities of goods declared for import or export.

Deferred duty/tax payment refers to the payment of duties and taxes for goods declared over a specified period, e.g. 14 days, after the release of the goods, in one amount by bank transfer or other non-cash payment method, to the Customs bank account or by withdrawal by Customs from the trader’s Customs account.