Is time of the essence? Is cost of the essence? You have various services available to cross border destinations, picking the right one makes the difference. Do you require the faster dedicated service that is also slightly more expensive or a regular consolidation service to the various destinations we service?

As a rule of thumb, border clearances to the neighbouring SADC countries do take their time and the more shipments are carried on one vehicle the longer they may take. Take the contra marca system in Mozambique for example which may already cause delays before your consignment can be despatched. To keep the delays to a minimum Novotrans has introduced a system which keeps these delays to an absolute minimum.

What is this contra marca number?

Every consignment transiting or imported into Mozambique needs to be bonded though Mozambique pending final clearance or re-export into a neighbouring country. To show that this bond is in place, this so called contra marca number is issued. It has to be in place before a consignment can be despatched. This is necessary to avoid long and costly standing times at the borders. In the case of transit cargo this number is obtained by the truckers border agent. In case on import cargo to Mozambique, by the importers customs clearing agent.

Zimbabwe also has its own challenges as you may well appreciate.

In order to keep border standing times to a minimum each and every importer, or his agent, will have to sign our so called loading authority prior to despatch of the goods. In it he confirms that all duties and taxes are in place as well as all necessary documentation to facilitate a smooth clearing process. The importer or his agent also sign that they accept demurrage charges, should a truck be delayed due to their failure to clear in time. Our partners in Zimbabwe follow up on this process from the moment they receive copy documentation to arrival at the customer’s premises.

To Zambia, Malawi and other neighbouring countries we follow similar procedures to keep delays to a minimum.

Get your documentation into us in time for us to start the necessary process well before anticipated despatch date. You will be kept updated from start to finish inclusive of daily tracking. Call or e-mail us for a no obligation chat to find the best possible transport solution for you and your company. We will gladly visit you in your offices at a time convenient to you. If you enjoyed the tips in this article, click on the Facebook image below to share it with your friends.