Advanced Cargo Information System "ACI"

Advanced Cargo Information System "ACI"

New Announcement - February 2023 - Egypt's Central Bank cancels letter of credit as a requirement for import
The Central Bank of Egypt has announced that it has cancelled the use of Letters of credit issued in February 2022 as a requirement for imports and the return of cash against documents.

The decision to introduce Letters of credit was blamed for disruptions to supply chains as it involved more cost and time due to the involvement of two banks while the cash against documents allows direct transactions between importers and exporters.
As a result of this decision, Egypt has managed to release $5 billion worth of goods from ports with more to be released in the near future.

ACI - 21rd November 2022 - Read the full article in Arabic by clicking here. 
Dr. Mohamed Maait, Minister of Finance, confirmed that the trial period of the ACI system for pre-registration of shipments at the air ports, which was scheduled to end on December 31, has been extended, and the mandatory application, which was scheduled to start on January 1, 2023, has been postponed until conditions stabilize. The global and local economy, in response to the business community of those dealing with the customs system, and to facilitate them in light of the severe upheavals and unprecedented changes in the global economy that cast a shadow on the economies of all countries, including Egypt, in the aftermath of the war in Europe, whose repercussions were intertwined with the consequences of the “Corona” pandemic. In a way that led to confusion in the global supply and supply chains, and a sharp rise in inflation rates.

The minister said that we are keen to provide the longest possible period of time for importers, customs brokers, air freight agents, companies exporting to Egypt and international multinational companies to complete their preparations to deal with the new system. In a way that guarantees benefiting from the facilities provided by ACI, reaching the highest levels of governance for merchandise imports at Egyptian ports, and adhering to quality standards for imported commodities.

Dr. Mona Nasser, Assistant Minister for Follow-up and Customs Development Projects, explained that we are continuing the gradual transition to electronic systems developed according to the latest international experiences. to ensure the achievement of the desired goals; In a way that helps reduce customs release time, reduce the cost of the import and export process, encourage Egyptian exports, simplify procedures, and facilitate the business community, especially with regard to imports of production requirements, services, and strategic goods.

Al-Shahat Ghaturi, head of the Customs Authority, called on those dealing with the customs system who import goods from abroad through air ports, to quickly join the system of pre-registration of shipments “ACI”, through the electronic portal of the “window” platform www.nafeza.gov.eg and to benefit from the facilities that It is provided by the new system, explaining the authority's keenness to overcome any obstacles facing importers and their agents, including customs brokers and air freight agents, and to provide them with all means of technical support in order to facilitate their accession to the ACI pre-registration of shipments.

We would like to highlight that these new measures will have effect only on Sea shipment transactions, effective from 1st October 2021, NOT on exports by Airfreight and all other modes of shipment; they will be outside the scope of the new measures until new announcements by the Egyptian Government.

Central bank eases Import / Export rules
Central bank eases FX rules for imports: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has eased restrictions on the use of foreign currencies for imports in a bid to ease the buildup of goods at ports, causing shortages of industrial and consumer goods.

Among the key changes:

Companies can now issue letters of credit to pay for goods stuck at port: This will allow companies to open letters of credit (L/Cs) (and, in some cases, to use documentary collection) to pay overseas suppliers and release goods that are stuck in customs.

Parent companies with Egyptian subsidiaries can use FX balances: Parent companies can use foreign-currency deposits held as of 19 September to cover import costs for subsidiaries and vice versa.

Companies can now transfer in FX and use it to cover imports: From now on, Importers can use foreign-currency transfers from overseas partners to cover imports. FX including remittances, dividends or the proceeds of capital increases may be used. Subsidiaries can use loans from parent companies on the condition that the facilities are provided for no less than 12 months and that it is documented in both companies’ financial statements.

*Source: Enterprise Egypt

A statement from The Central Bank of Egypt on the 13th of February 2022 stating:
As one of the governance procedures to regulate the importation process of goods into Egypt; The decision was made to stop all import transactions through collection of documents and use bank to bank transactions instead.


The only approved way of importing is through letters of credit from importers. This was followed by announcements of exemptions of sectors to the above regulation. The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) excluded imports of medicines, serums, relevant chemical substances, and some food commodities from the recent decision.

The food items that were excluded include: tea, meat, chicken, fish, wheat, table oil, baby formula, powder milk, bean, lentils, butter, and maize.

The exclusion decision also applies to express mail shipments and shipments that are worth up to $5,000 or an equivalent amount in other currencies.

The CBE has also directed all banks to reduce their commission for opening documentary credits to be equal to the commission paid for collection documents, as not to add financial burdens for the trader.

Please click below to learn more about the new export regulations and the Advanced Cargo Information System. 

As a member of the Egyptian Chamber of Commerce, we offer direct support over the phone, email and via our Trade Accelerators Private group available here. We are available to walk you through every stage of the process including direct contact with members of CargoX and Nafeza. 

To join as a member simply click here and follow our online instructions or call us on +44 (0) 20 7499 3100 and we will guide you throhgh the process. 

Our simple overview of how the new system will work is available here to view and download - New ACI Pre-Shipment Procedures Explained

For an extended overview of the process you can view and download here - All you need to Know about the Advanced Cargo Information System

What is the Advance Cargo Information (ACI) System?

Advance Cargo Information (ACI) is a new customs procedure that requires cargo data or documents (Pro-forma invoice and draft bill of lading-if exist) at least 48 hours before cargo shipment from the export country, to enable stakeholders to monitor any risk to the state through the Risk Management System (RMS), with the highest priority given to the security of Egyptian citizens

What are the Advantages of ACI?

  • Protecting the Egyptian citizens from unidentified goods or goods from unidentified origins
  • Reducing release time and hence the cost of releasing goods
  • Using electronic data and documents, thereby dispensing with paper documents

Who does ACI impact?

  • Importers
  • Exporters and suppliers (foreign)
  • Clearance companies
  • Sea/air shipping companies

How to prepare for ACI

  • The Egyptian importer register on the online portal www.nafeza.gov.eg
  • Obtain the electronic signature pad from competent authorities to access Nafeza
  • List advance cargo data and acquire ACID prior to the start of import operations
  • Submit cargo data and documents (commercial invoice and final or initial bill of lading) prior to shipment
  • Notify overseas exporters dealing with electronic invoice to send all shipment documents to (Nafeza) platform through supply chain networks using Block-chain technology - upon vessel’s departure from the port of export - this is all completed through the CargoX platform. 

Who are the certified Block-chain Service Providers?

CargoX

CargoX has developed BDTS (Block-chain Documentation Transaction System), which offers a platform with many applications, the most popular of which is Smart B / L ™. CargoX created an open system that uses Block-chain technology and decentralized encrypted data storage to enable the creation and exchange of information and documents

You can view a short demo of the whole CargoX system here - https://cargox.io/videos/short-demo-cargox-platform/

How can foreign exporters sign up and use CargoX?

You can check the following links for direct information and a walk through

What is CargoX Digital courier service?

CargoX is a digital courier service. We are making sending physical paper documents obsolete. Blockchain enables us to know which digital documents are originals and who owns them. Only the owner of a document can transfer possession of it to recipient. Sending originals around the world with CargoX takes seconds and is much safer and cheaper.

CargoX, an independent supplier of public-blockchain-based solutions was established in January 2018, crowdfunded by over 2000 individuals from 95 countries, and currently (2020) employs around 15 people.

In April 2018 a MVP was introduced to public at the International Logistics Conference late and beta testing began. In H2 2018 CargoX launched its first generation platform into full production, focused on sea freight and documents of title, such as Bills of Lading...

At the beginning of 2019 CargoX v2 platform Smart B/L v2 launched with simplified user interface and support for 10 documents frequent in maritime transport and documentary credits (Letter of Credit). Customer feedback was overwhelmingly positive, but everyone wanted to use solution for other modalities transport documents and also for non-transport documents.

Early 2020 CargoX presented Generation 3 of the platform, now called just The CargoX Platform. Platform is universal and completely flexible, supporting over 50 types of documents for all industries!

CargoX continues to provide a fast, safe, and reliable transfer of paperless and contactless digital originals and other digital documents.

CargoX leverages the security and decentralization of the permissionless, public blockchain and smart contracts.

To learn more about CargoX, please visit https://cargox.io

CargoX Platform Signup

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