04 Dec 2024

Parliament has been informed that from January 1 to date, 13 756 imported vehicles were cleared and stored in bonded warehouses which are 100 per cent owned by Batswana. 

Responding to a question on Tuesday, Minister of Finance, Mr Ndaba Gaolathe said 18 147 vehicles were cleared and stored by bonded warehouses on joint venture ownership between Batswana and foreigners, while 422 were cleared and stored in bonded warehouses operated by foreigners. 

He said the Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS) database had 104 registered and licenced customs bonded warehouses and 203 registered and licenced customs clearing agents. “Among customs bonded warehouses, 35 are 100 per cent owned by citizens of Botswana, 59 joint venture ownership between Batswana and foreigners, six owned by foreigners and four are government owned. 

With regards to customs clearing agents, 164 are 100 per cent owned by Botswana citizens, 31 joint ventures between Batswana and foreigners and eight owned by foreigners,” said Mr Gaolathe. 

Requirements for licensing and registration to operate as a clearing agency or bonded warehouse, Mr Gaolathe said included among others the documentary evidence that the agency was domiciled in Botswana and that it was registered with CIPA and that at least one of the directors must be resident in Botswana. 

Another requirement is that the company directors, managers and employees who will be directly dealing with customs related matters, should not have committed any customs related offences during the preceding five years, Mr Gaolathe said. 

The minister also talked about revaluations, which he said were international customs practice conducted mainly to determine the customs value of goods for purposes of levying customs duties. 

“Goods subject to revaluation are a result of risk profiling selections or referral cases where the customs clearance office and the trader do not agree on the value of goods,” he said and explained that upon making revaluations, nationality of individuals was not a requirement. 

Mr Gaolathe further stated that  from April 1 to date, 2 814 vehicles had been received for revaluation, among which 2 715 revaluations had been completed while 99 were pending. A total of P2. 5 million, he said, had been recovered from these revaluations. 

Mogoditshane West MP, Mr Galenawabo Lekau had wanted to know how many locals had bonded warehouses and operated as clearing agents as opposed to foreigners. 

He had also wanted to know the number of imported vehicles that had been cleared or stored in bonded warehouses operated by Batswana compared to foreigners this year. 

The MP further sought clarity on what it took for one to have a bonded warehouse and or clearing agent skills and fees as well as whether it was not time this kind of business was strictly reserved for locals. Ends