SADC to use electronic Certificates of Origin
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) announced on 9 May 2020 that it will be introducing the use of an Electronic Certificate of Origin (eCoO) system within all 16 member nations. The move will streamline the clearing of goods and save time and money for exporters.
The SADC includes nearly all African countries south of the equator, including the Republic of South Africa, one of continent’s largest economies. According to the SADC announcement, it plans to launch a test of the eCoO system in the six member states of Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia before the end of May 2020.
All six countries have recently developed their own national versions that will now be integrated into the regional framework platform developed for use by participant countries. Mauritius, another member nation, has already developed its own eCoO module and is currently ready to use it with other SADC member states.
Upon successfully completing the trial, the eCoO system will then be expanded across all countries in the community. Its introduction should have a positive impact on trade with and within the region.
An SADC statement said: “The implementation of the eCoO is expected to contribute to the reduction of non-tariff barriers to trade and enhance participation of SADC Member States in the regional value chain and ultimately, support successful implementation of the industrialisation strategy and roadmap in the consolidation of the SADC FTA. This eventually will lead to the improvement of SADC Member States in their ranking in ease of doing business.”
The advantage of the electronic system is that it saves exporters time and money, as well as promoting greater harmonisation of trade protocols regionally. Under the current manual system, hard copy documents must be delivered by exporters to the approving authority; delivered back upon approval; and finally delivered to the importer.
The electronic system enables documentation to be processed and approved online, and the approved certificate to then be delivered digitally by email or by express mail to the applicant in a short period of time.
